Out of Here
by JesterChester
Summary: Santana and Rachel live in two very different places, and there's nothing Santana won't do just to get out, but it's not that easy, and it never will be.
1. Chapter 1

**Alright so I'm obsessed with Pezberry, sue me. This story is pretty AU and this doesn't really involve Glee club at all, just the members. Here's the first chapter, hope you like it. **

You have to be in the right place at the right time. That's what my older brother always said, and that's what you had to live by out here. The problem was most of the time I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong people. Sometimes I could hurt that was just part of life, but I knew that one day it was going to get me killed. This was Lima Heights Adjacent, you didn't want to mess with the wrong people, and you had to have a tight group just to walk around the corner.

I glanced down at my cell phone checking the time for the third time in as many minutes. I caught sight of the bus pulling up across the street from me and I pushed off the wall I was previously leaning against and began to search the people getting off. It didn't take long for me to spot the one person wearing a hard rock t-shirt and had cropped messy blond hair. She caught sight of me and quickly jogged over across the street. "Where the fuck have you been?" I asked her crossing my arms over my chest. She gave me an annoyed grin so I just brushed past her and began walking down the street. She followed mainly because she knew she was late and she knew I didn't want to babysit her.

"I was visiting my dad…you know he lives in Columbus." Quinn said trying to explain herself. I rolled my eyes and continued walking.

"Screw him Quinn; you cannot be serious right now." I didn't understand why she still visited her father. The way he left her and her mom and two younger sisters was awful. I remember having to hold her while she cried herself to sleep for at least a month. I rid my mind of those thoughts, that was the past and one of us had to get over it so we could move on. I shoved my hands into my pockets and picked up my pace.

"What's the rush Pez? Your shoes are practically on fire right now." Quinn whined. I slowed my pace but kept looking across the street. I caught sight of a few punks from the west end of Heights. They were leaning up against a car smoking weed and tossing beer cans into the middle of the street. They were wannabes, and they had no business over here. I was burning holes through their skulls and I knew they noticed, but none of them pounced, not yet.

"Those assholes piss me off so much." I said between my clenched teeth. I had slowed down so much that I was basically at a halt. Quinn glanced over at the boys and shrugged.

"So what? What are you gonna do pick a fight with 'em? Save it." Quinn warned. She knew that when I got angry then my rational side just disappeared and I knew she was trying to stop me from being stupid. It was nice of her to protect me, but right now I didn't need that, those guys weren't even worth the effort. Just as I was about to take one step away and towards Quinn apartment something whizzed past me. From my time living here my first instinct said bullet but when I turned my head I saw Puck making a u-turn on his bike and slowly riding back towards Quinn and I.

"You almost knocked me over you dick!" I said pushing him off his bike as soon as he was within reach. He landed on his back and was ready to retaliate but Quinn stepped in between us to stop things from getting out of hand. Puck and I were practically siblings and that meant we fought like siblings.

"Chill San I wasn't trying to hit you. You're the one who wasn't paying attention…what were you looking at any-." When he spotted the kids from the west end he glared them down like I had earlier. "What are they doing over here? You know they're just trying to prove something." We all knew that it wasn't news. Those guys weren't just from the west end they probably were vying for a spot in the West End gang. The only way to get in that gang was to hurt somebody, and badly at that. I didn't like knowing that they were scanning these streets for someone to mess up.

"Yeah and if you didn't come over here with your punk ass bike maybe we'd be able to scare them off." Quinn laughed because she knew how much Puck loved riding that thing around, but I didn't think it was that funny. I glanced down the street and saw a girl who looked just about my age walking down the street right at the boys. Puck and Quinn caught sight of her too. What the hell did she think she was doing? She was walking right into a trap.

"What is that girl doing?" Quinn said taking a step into the street and squinting her eyes to see closer. The girl across the street was wearing a skirt and some ridiculous looking sweater. I hadn't seen her around here, and I take it that was because she wasn't from around here. Now one would be caught dead looking that vulnerable on the street. "Why is she stopping?" Quinn chirped watching as the boys from across the street seemed to be interested in talking to the short brunette. There were four west enders, and I knew for a fact that the girl across the street had no idea what kind of danger she was in.

"We gotta go, come on." I said beginning my stride across the street and hoping Quinn and Puck would follow. Luckily they did, because I wasn't ready to take on four guys all by myself. Puck held his bike handles as he walked beside me, and Quinn was walking to my right. "Yo what's goin on West Enders?" I said in the cockiest way possible. The boys turned from the small brunette and looked over at me.

"Fuck off." One of the boys said spitting on the ground in front of me. I looked down at my feet making sure none of the spit got on my shoes. It didn't but that didn't stop the anger from boiling up inside of me.

"Not worth it Pez." Quinn said grabbing my arm and pulling me back. Puck wasn't trying to comfort me, instead he was waiting for me to pounce. I knew if I did he'd have my back, but I looked over at the out of place girl standing behind the West Enders. "Look we don't care what you're doing, but I just wanted to take my cousin home. She seems a little lost." The boys didn't look convinced but they parted ways and let the short sweater sporting girl walk through and over by us.

I reluctantly turned and walked away, with the short girl in tow. "If I catch you assholes on this side of town again I'm gonna fuck you all up!" I shouted over my shoulder. They didn't retaliate instead they glared at me and my friends until we had turned the corner. I looked back and saw that the girl was still following us and I was wondering where she was going in the first place. "Hey, mini-girl what's with?" I questioned.

"Thank you guys for your valiant deed, I was merely searching for someone to explicate to me where I could find a music store. I'm in need of a few supplies that will surely be of great use in the near future." Puck and I exchanged looks but Quinn just looked amused. Was this girl from a different planet or something?

"Christ, what the fuck are you saying? You need a hookup for a fly music place?" I asked and she thought it over for a second before nodding. "You shouldn't have come to Lima Heights for that shit; someone like you will get killed out here. Yo Lucy Caboose, get this kid on the next bus outta here." I told her. Quinn rolled her eyes because she hated being called by her birth name. I smirked and glanced at the shorter girl for a moment before I snapped out of it. "What's your name midget?"

"Rachel Barbra Berry, my middle name is the given name of a famous-." I held up my hand to cut her off before she could finish.

"Don't care…you're just lucky I saved your ass today. Next time maybe you'll think twice about ever coming back here."

**Read and Review, so I know if I should continue with this or not.**


	2. Chapter 2

**So I feel like I have to start developing the whole back-story for Santana without Rachel at first. Don't worry this is a Pezberry story, just don't freak out if there are other pairings first. Anyway here ya go. Enjoy. **

"So where'd you send that little muskrat?" I asked looking up at Quinn from where I was laying on my couch. Quinn threw my legs off the couch effectively swinging me around into a seated position but also getting herself a seat which she gladly took.

"She lives in Lima, she was supposed to be going to her first doctor's appointment alone, but she got on the wrong bus and that's how she ended up here. She's not so bad." Quinn said shrugging in her nonchalant way like she always does. I rolled my eyes and turned off my small TV. I was bored out of my mind, and I didn't want to spend my Saturday night hauled up here with Quinn. We should be out doing something somewhere. Anywhere for Christ's sake. It was only eleven, which meant that I had seven hours until my mom came home from her night shift job. Which meant that I had the night to do whatever the hell I wanted, and I was going to do just that. I stood up and walked into my room. "Where are you going?" Quinn asked once I came back out wearing my leather jacket and black dark martens that only made me look like even more of a badass than I already was.

"We're going out, come on." I urged her. She still looked unsure. "It's one night; your mom can take care of Abby-."

"What about Brittany?" Quinn asked referring to her sister that was just about ten months younger than her. It was strange that we didn't chill with Brittany as much. I think it was because that girl lived in her own little world, her own little happy world, and Quinn and I just couldn't think like that. Sometimes I wish I still had hope like Brittany, but most of that had gone when I started really seeing things.

"She can come with, go get her I'll meet you downstairs." I offered and Quinn nodded. We left my apartment together, but she had to run up the stairs to get to her apartment while I just ran down and waited outside. It was getting colder now, but I didn't mind. The only thing I minded was waiting for Quinn and Brittany outside alone. Sure I always carried a switchblade, but most people around here had guns. The door next to me swung open and Quinn and Brittany emerged. "Fina-fucking-ly, what took you two so long?" I asked. Brittany looked at Quinn who looked back at me. I noticed that Brittany was wearing her usually ridiculously stylish clothes, while Quinn just wore a flannel button up and jeans.

"Where are we going?" Brittany said her usual high pitched bubbly tone. I tried to ignore it, but Quinn laughing at my frustration only made it worse. I had to resist making a sarcastic comment about Brittany just so Quinn wouldn't get mad at me. I ran across the street barley looking both ways before I did and we all walked over to Puck's house. I debated knocking on the door but when I heard music blasting from the basement I just yanked open his front door and walked in. I never question Puck about why his parents seem to never be home mostly because I enjoy the parties he throws.

"Yo Puckster you never told me you were having a party." I yelled over the music once I managed to squeeze between a handful of drunken teens. Puck smiled and wrapped his arm around my shoulder. He immediately went over to get me a drink, and I looked over at Quinn who was staring down any guy that looked at her sister the wrong way. "I got Quinn to bring her sister that deserves an award in itself." I told Puck as I gulped down a shot of vodka.

"Didn't think I'd ever see the day. Quinn protects that girl like she's the fucking Mona Lisa." Puck said laughing along with me. I leaned back against the table which held all the alcohol in the world and admired Brittany for a second. Her legs were pretty amazing, and she had this smile that literally brightened up the whole room. I guess Quinn did have a cute sister, but she really didn't have to know I thought that. Before I could even finish my thoughts about Brittany, Quinn waltzed up to me and gave me her best scold.

"What?" I asked innocently.

"I saw you staring at my sister, you'd better fucking not." She warned. I shrugged and took another shot. I didn't quite understand why she was so upset with me. She knew how much I liked to have fun, fun was my only escape and it was hers too. "Lopez I swear to God!" She snapped her fingers in front of my face to get my attention. I glared at her and crossed my arms over my chest.

"I'm not doing anything, I'm simply admiring your sister's dancing abilities. Chill your tits seriously, because I wouldn't have taken you both if I knew you were going to give me shit all night." That wasn't true and Quinn knew it once it left my lips. In reality, if Quinn wanted to stay home then I would've let her, and I would've stayed with her. We were best friends and nothing could change that.

"So where are we going after this. I've never known you and Puck to stay the whole night in one place." I grinned and so did Quinn even though I knew she didn't want to. She knew me too well, it was almost scary at this point. "You just can't resist staying out of trouble for one night, can you?" She asked as I stumbled over towards Puck.

"Neither can you." I taunted. I had to drag Puck away from a girl he was literally dry humping on the dance floor to get him to talk to us. "So what's the deal Puck-hole? Have you gone soft on us or what? Let's kick this gig and go down to the west end bridge." I offered. Puck looked across the room to a group of kids about to get into a fight, he shrugged and nodded, but then paused for a moment.

"What about baby Quinn?" He questioned referring to Brittany. Quinn frowned and responded before I could.

"She can come with us, I don't care." Quinn said nodding for her sister to come over. Brittany complied and stood by her older sister. I didn't know if this was such a good idea. Bringing Brittany would require us to literally babysit her, and I wasn't up for that. We were going to tag the bridge with signs of Lima Heights Adjacent kids just to show those guys to mind their own business. I knew Puck didn't mind leaving people in his house, but I didn't think he'd want to leave two certain kids there.

"What about tweedle Dee and tweedle Big-Mouth?" I questioned nodding over to Sam and Finn.

"Hey Sam and Hudson let's go, grab your shit Evans." Sam grabbed his bag and both boys followed us out of Pucks house and towards Sam's truck. I made Brittany sit up front with Sam as he was driving while the rest of us sat in the open back on buckets and sandbags. I didn't want Brittany seeing a squirrel and jumping out or something.

I reached in Sam's bag and pulled out some of the spray paint he had and looked for the colors I was going to use. It was a ritual, not because we were bad kids, but just because we were a product of this place. If you were pissed at someone you either killed them or marked their territory with something of yours. In our case, it was Adjacent tags that we used.

"You know the cops have been trolling the west end trying to find the people who jumped that kid and put him in the hospital. If we get caught we're screwed." Quinn rationalized.

"I'm the one who's gonna get fucked over if we get caught. I've got two strikes remember?" Puck said hanging his head over the edge of the truck. A car barley missed decapitating him but he still didn't move. I almost wished that car had hit him, something needed to be done about that animal that he calls hair on his head. "What are we doing this for anyway? Those guys didn't even do anything to that ritzy McKinley girl."

"This isn't about some chick I don't give a flying fuck about, this is about honor. Remember when that meant something? We can't let those guys believe they can walk all over us…shit doesn't go down like that." I explained to Puck. The problem was that shit did go down like that. Exactly like that, and there was where the problem was.

"We're here!" Sam yelled from the front seat, and Puck, Finn, and I jumped over the side of the car and landed on our feet, but when I looked up Quinn was still seated and looking down the street.

"Come on Q, let's go!" I yelled, she grabbed Sam's bag filled with the spray paint and tossed it over to me while she got out of the truck.

I grabbed a red spray can and everyone else except Finn and Brittany grabbed one too. Finn was the worst at tagging anything, and I assumed that Brittany didn't know how to spell so I ignored it. The bridge had been struck by lighting once and no it was not in use. At least that was the story; I just think the city didn't have enough money to keep up with it so they just let it rot. It was the symbol that you were entering the west end which is why we began tagging the bridge a few years ago.

We all had different signatures. Puck's was messy and he drew birds falling from the sky. Quinn's was artsy, to the point where I had no idea what was going on in her mind. Sam always drew a bull's face, I don't know what it meant but he said it had something to do with Picasso or something. Mine was simple, the anarchy sign with: SISOSIG under it. No one knew what it meant except me or anyone who listens to the Clash. It was the title of one of their songs, _Should I Stay or Should I Go?_ It didn't matter what it meant, all that mattered is that the West Enders would know that someone from Lima Height Adjacent wrote it.

"What are you doing?" I almost jumped when I heard the voice behind me until I realized it was Brittany. The others were on the other side of the bridge, now just making random tags and joking around.

"Doesn't your sister ever tell you anything?" I asked her shaking my head in amusement. I didn't understand how she could grow up in the same house as Quinn but not know about any of the hardships. I studied the girl for a second before finishing up the last smudge of what I considered to be art. I stood, now facing the blond and she smiled at me without even answering my question.

"She tells me that I'm the bestest sister in the whole wide world, and that I'm pretty." Brittany replied and I couldn't help but laugh at the thought of Quinn saying those things. The girl was hardcore sometimes, but she had a sweet side.

"Well you are pretty." I told her. I can't believe I never noticed how hot Quinn's sister was. I mean her legs literally went on for miles, and her smile was actually enchanting. I didn't really like asking for permission for anything, but with Brittany I felt like I needed to really look her in the eyes. Her gorgeous blues looked right back at me and she nodded a little before I pulled her in for a kiss. All I could think about was her watermelon lip-smackers and how Quinn was going to absolutely murder me if she found out. I wanted to deepen the kiss but when I heard the roar of a police siren I jumped back and grabbed Brittany's hand. We needed to get out of there, now.

"Come on, shit! Come on Hudson move it!" I pulled Brittany up in the truck and lifted Quinn up too. Sam started driving and Finn had to run to catch up and jump on, but we all made it. That was a close one, but all I could do was laugh.

"What's so funny?" Quinn asked nudging me in the side.

"The police." I said laughing. Puck stood up right in front of me while the truck was still moving, and I gave him a warning glance, but didn't stop laughing.

"Fuck the police!" Puck yelled as loud as he could. I grabbed him and pulled him down to a seated position.

"Yeah man…fuck them." I agreed.


	3. Chapter 3

**sunrise4ever: Yeah I decided that everyone is going to be from LHA so that Rachel will literally be a complete outsider.**

**SilkeLovesSantana: I love badass Santana, it's so much fun to write. **

**hersheysforever: I'm glad you like it, I hope you keep reading.**

**kyw0202: I don't even know where this story is going but I think I have an idea.**

**frustratedwriter13: Thank you for the review, Quinn, Puck, and Santana's friendship is so easy to write because they're all sort of cool and badass in their own way.**

**Enjoy.**

I didn't like going to the food bank. Honestly, it was embarrassing as hell but where else was I going to get something to eat? My mom's jobs only paid for rent and beer but nothing more. So this is what it came down to, I either go to the food bank or I starve.

It was one of those typical hot southern Ohio days. The air was so dry that I thought my lips were going to crack off. I hated myself for not taking the bus out here for two reasons. One reason was because I really did not like walking anywhere alone, even if it was the middle of the day. And two, I hated that I didn't have enough money right now to pay for a $1.25 bus ride.

Fuck. Sometimes I hated being poor. I opened up the door to the food bank and walked right over to the line to my left. It worked like this. Most homeless people went to the right to get a hot meal or two. Most lower class dirt poor people went to the left, because sure we didn't have much, but we at least had a stove to cook the canned food we were about to receive. I was slightly impatient so when I was only two people behind the front of the line I was relieved.

The guy in front of me took forever to grab his food. It was like he was trying to piss me off by the way he kept putting his hands on the box and removing them for a better position of leverage to pick the damn thing up. When I stood in front of the counter waiting for the girl working there to hurry up and grab my box I noticed something. Shit I forgot my switchblade in Sam's truck last night, I was going to have to get that thing.

"Some of us have places to be." I mumbled to the girl, who when she turned around look eerily familiar. Like so familiar that I almost wanted to look away because this was not the place to be meeting up with anyone. And then it hit me, it was that stupid McKinley girl from yesterday. Maybe she won't notice me. Well judging by the way her eyes lit up when she handed me the box of food that was out of the question.

"Hi!" She said excitedly. I looked behind me trying to see if I could kill this conversation before it started by claiming that people behind me were in a rush. Too bad I was the last one in the line on the left.

"Hey." I said nonchalantly.

"How'd your day end up yesterday? I mean after you swooped in valiantly and saved me, I imagine things can only get more exciting from there." This girl talked a lot. Wait, what was her name? Rachel…something. I guess it didn't matter, she didn't know me and I didn't need to know her.

"Look this isn't my like ideal place to talk to anyone." She nodded in understanding. She flung off her apron and grab a small designer bag and threw it over her shoulder. I guess that was her way of saying that her shift was over because she started walking around the counter and towards me.

"I know this might seem awkward, but it's not. I won't judge you-."

"No, everyone judges everyone, so don't give me that bullshit." I told her as I lifted the box of canned goods. "When's your ride coming?" I asked before both of my feet were out the door. She seemed to take this as an invitation to catch up to me and follow me in the direction that I was headed.

"I don't have one." If my hands weren't full I would've have face palmed.

"You can't be serious. What'd you do walk here?" I joked.

"I took the bus, and I'm headed to the bus stop now." She nodded across the street to where the redline picks up literally the worst group of people ever. I know for a fact that a lot of druggies use that line to get from Heights Adjacent to Lima to meet up with their dealers. I shook my head no and she gave me a quizzical expression.

"No…uh I'll take you to the yellow line. It's quicker and you might actually stay alive on this bus." I muttered the last part but she giggled. "So what's your deal? You enjoy spending time feeding the lower class or something?" She looked offended and pushed her hair back behind her ear. There was something sort of innocent about her, innocent in a way that was annoying. What type of person chooses to hang out here?

"It's volunteer work. It looks good for colleges." Now I was the one offended and I knew exactly why. I had a secret hope that maybe she was just doing this to help out but that had just been crushed. She wanted to write on her college application that she had helped out all the poor wrenched people in Lima Heights. Well fuck her, there was no way I was going to be her charity case. "I think that truck is following us." I looked to my left to see Sam's truck slowly pulling up next to me. I rolled my eyes when I saw that Puck was in the passenger's seat while Sam was driving.

"Lookin good ladies." Puck shouted giving a little cat call as well. I rolled my eyes at Puck and tried to gage Rachel's reaction, but it was really just amusement.

"Hey Aerosmith." I said referring to Sam's giant mouth. "I left something in the back, let me go get it and I swear if you start driving when I'm back there I will kill you." Sam took the keys out of the ignition and I took that as his way of saying he's the innocent type of guy. I placed the box of food on the ground, jumped in the back of the truck, and spotted my knife within seconds. I picked it up and got down shutting the back with an alarmingly loud sound.

"So what's going on? Rachel right?" Puck asked chewing his gum like it made him look sexy or something. I almost gagged when I realized he was trying to flirt his ass off.

"Your friend is taking me to the yellow line bus stop." Rachel said looking directly at me.

"Isn't that sweet of you Tiny Tana." Puck joked never letting the smirk leave his face. "But seriously Santana tonight meet me at Winton's across the street from the church. Quinn can come but no Brittany." He informed me. It was only the one hundredth time he'd told me, and I can't believe he said this in front of this girl. It's not like she knows what he's talking about, but still this was kind of private. "Speaking of Brittany…" The mischievous grin on his face let me in on the fact that he saw me kissing her yesterday and that he defiantly won't let it go.

"We'll talk about that later…see you assholes later." Puck laughed and Sam looked even more confused that Rachel currently did but they drove off.

"Is the boy with the Mohawk your boyfriend?" Rachel asked once I had grabbed my food and continued walking down the road.

"No he's just an idiot." I explained to her. When we arrived at the bus stop, I decided that maybe I should wait with her until it came. "Here's a piece of advice, try and stay away from this place. And never walk out here alone; you'll be dead if you do." The bus pulled up in front of us and the doors opened. Rachel didn't budge and neither did I.

"So I'll see you around?" She asked cheerfully as if I didn't just give her the scariest warning in history.

"No, no you won't."


	4. Chapter 4

**This is just so much fun to write. I didn't realize how much I loved the unholy trinity until I wrote this chapter. Anyway enjoy.**

I reached under the heavy rug in front of Quinn's door. I pulled out the key and unlocked the door. I knew Quinn wasn't there but I also knew she would be back. She was probably just visiting her dad, out there trying to scrap up pieces of her childhood. I plopped down on her couch and sat there for a while, debating whether to turn on the TV or steal some of Quinn's food.

I almost dozed off when I heard a door creak open. Crap, Brittany must be home, how could I be so stupid? The blond walked in the living room and sat down next to me. She didn't say anything to me which was surprising. I looked over at her and wondered how she felt about the kiss last night.

"High or low Britt?" I asked her quietly. That was the way I usually started off any of our conversations. It was like an unwritten law between us. Brittany was different. Ever since the incident last year, nothing has been the same with her. She began taking prescription drugs last year, antidepressants I think. They would mellow her out but I didn't think it was right. It wasn't normal when she was low, it was like she wasn't even there in her skin. Quinn hated it too, but her mom made her take those drugs.

"Low…real low." She said resting her head against the back of the couch and staring up at the ceiling.

"What are you feeling?" I asked her curiously. She didn't look at me, but I reached out and grab her hand. It was cold, and her piercing blue eyes shot over to me when I touched her.

"I don't feel anything." I looked down at our hands touching wondering when she would pull back. Wasn't she angry about taking all those stupid pills? I know that I would be pissed if someone was trying to control how I feel. "I wish I could feel something." My heart was literally breaking as I watched her look around her own apartment like she'd never been there before.

"Come on." I told her standing up and pulling her up with me. She was too dazed to walk at the same pace as me so I picked her up and began walking towards her bathroom. I set her down on the edge of her bathtub and she just stared up at me, like she was waiting for me to make a big move. I flung open the medicine cabinet and began pulling out pill bottles.

"What are you doing?" Brittany asked wobbling over towards me. She grabbed her pill bottles and slammed them down on the ground. She looked angry now, and even though it scared me, a part of me was happy that she was feeling something. I leaned down and picked up the bottles and flipped open the toilet.

"I know you hate these pills." I said. I began opening the bottles one by one and dumping the contents in the toilet. Brittany didn't smile or frown she just watched me. "I don't care what the doctor's say; they shouldn't drown you in this shit. It's not right." Once all the pills had been dumped I flushed them down and put the empty pill bottles in the trashcan.

"Why did you kiss me yesterday?" Brittany asked once the room had gone completely silent. I closed the lid on the toilet and sat down on it. Brittany returned to her seat on the edge of the bathtub.

"Because I wanted to." She must not have had the energy to call me out on my stupid answer because she didn't say anything.

"What the fuck is going on here?" Quinn said barging into the bathroom. I stood up to try and calm her down but she grabbed me around the collar and pressed my back up against the wall. I pushed her back but didn't hit her like I would anyone else.

"Quinn! Chill the fuck out!" I told her fixing my shirt.

"What are you doing in here?" Quinn asked. Her hazel eyes were scanning the room but I didn't know why. I always came over to her house and she knew that. "Are those Britt's' pills!" She fell to her knees and began digging frantically through her trash can. Checking each bottle to see if it was empty. "What the fuck Pez?"

"She doesn't want to take that shit, I mean look at her, she's like a zombie." I tried explaining to Quinn, but she had that fury in her eyes that wasn't going to go away. I knew it was stupid of me to toss the pills, but I felt like I had to. Quinn turned and glanced at her sister, she was now standing in the doorway. Her eyes didn't look like they had before, she looked afraid now.

"She has to take them, that's what the doctors said. If she takes them then she won't have to think about what happened." Quinn rationalized, mostly to herself. I wasn't about to believe that for one second.

"You know that's not true!" I snapped. "I was there, no one would be able to forget that, especially not her."

"Shut up! Everyone just shut up! You guys aren't allowed to tell me how I feel okay? Only I can say that! Only I can feel like this!" Quinn and I were equally shocked by Brittany's words. Our mouths hung open even when Brittany bolted and ran to her room slamming the door behind her. I'd never seen Brittany lose her cool like that, and it was nothing less than scary. Quinn looked over at me giving me the cruelest look her soft face could muster up. Just as she was about to leave me alone in the bathroom I reached out and grabbed her shoulder.

"I was only trying to look out for her." I said.

"Why? Because you think I can't? She's my sister not yours okay? I get why you're doing this alright." She exited the bathroom but I followed her into her modest kitchen space. She reached into her refrigerator and grabbed two sodas. She tossed one to me and we opened them at the same time.

"Okay then tell me why I'm doing this." I urged her.

"Maybe it's because that night I wasn't there to protect Brittany. It was one mistake, it was just one night." Quinn said gulping down half of her soda and leaning up against the counter.

"One night can change everything." I whispered before I took a sip of my soda. The tension was lifted, even though neither of us actually apologized. I could hear Brittany in her room listening to _Adele_ and I thought to myself that those songs would only depress her more. "So I saw that Rachel girl today at the food bank." I said watching Quinn in amusement as she quirked one of her eyebrows.

"Wow, awkward much? What'd she say to you?" Quinn asked.

"She practically called me a charity case. Whatever, she had the guts to try and take the redline…chicks got balls." I said and Quinn nodded.

"Or she's just stupid." Quinn suggested.

"Yep she's just one of those rich kids looking for an escape from her perfect little world. I will never understand why they do that." I looked at my watch and saw that it was getting late. I hadn't told Quinn about meeting up with Puck tonight yet and I didn't know if this was a good time to ask. "Puck's thinking of meeting at Winton's…" It was enough just to throw the idea out there, Quinn didn't need further explanation.

"This is so stupid Santana." Quinn said rolling her eyes.

"But you're not saying no…" I smirked and so did Quinn.

"Let's kick it, I could use some more drama to spice things up." I loved Quinn attitude, it's literally what kept me afloat sometimes. The good thing was I needed her as much as she needed me and that's why we worked. She wasn't just my best friend, she was more than that. She's the only person I could trust, she's the only one I could count on.

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	5. Chapter 5

**Here's the next chapter enjoy. **

"These guys are scamming us!" Puck yelled slamming his fist down on the car hood. I leaned back against the passenger's side door and peered in just enough to see if Quinn was okay. She opted to stay in the car and with the car ignition on. She always thought something was going to go wrong and nothing ever did. Right now Puck was pissed and to be honest I was too. We were supposed to meet our guys here an hour ago, but they still hadn't showed.

"Don't worry you know they'll come." I said with the uneasy feeling settling in my gut. I knocked on the window and Quinn rolled it down for me. "You okay?" I asked her even though I knew what the answer was.

"You know how I get when things don't go exactly as they're planned." She said as if that was a complete answer. I looked into her eyes just to gage if she was about to lose her cool or not, and she was. I opened up the car door and slid into the passenger's seat closing the door next to me. "What are you doing?" She asked keeping her eyes on Puck.

"Are you alright with this?" I asked Quinn. "If this is about those pills that I flushed then I promise I'll pay you back. I can get them for Brittany, I swear." Quinn just shook her head and sighed.

"I don't care about the stupid pills…when's the last time you ate?" She questioned reaching out and grabbing my hand. I didn't like how warm she felt so I pulled away.

"Look let's just get this over with, Puck looks restless." I told Quinn as I got out of the car again and stood side by side with my mohawked friend. "Where is your guy Puck? I need this money, I _need _it." Puck nodded in understanding, but I knew he didn't exactly get it like Quinn did. I was dirt poor and that food that I got from the food bank isn't going to last forever. I'd gone hungry more nights than I can count because my mom's checks only cover the rent…just barley actually.

I heard the car door open behind me and Quinn came running out over to my side. "What the fuck is that girl doing here?" I followed her line of vision to see Rachel happily walking towards us with an incredibly bright smile plastered on her face. I ran at her even though she was across the street grabbing her by the arm and yanking her towards Puck's car.

"Well it sure seems like you're happy to see me-." I tossed her in the back seat of Puck's car just as Rico and his crew pulled up in front of us. I looked over at Puck who was trying to keep his cool just like I was. Rico and three members got out and confronted us.

"You got it?" Rico asked me. He reached out his hand, but I didn't want anything shady.

"Whoa, hold it man, money first." I said as I reached into my back pockets and pulled out little baggies filled with cocaine. He handed the money to Puck and I handed him the baggies.

"Wait, who is that in the back? You said you'd only have three people with you, I'm counting four. You tryin to play me?" It was easy to piss Rico off. He was just like Quinn in the sense that unexpected always meant something bad to him. I didn't want to start stuff, the deal was over, and we needed to get out of there now.

"No games, you got the stuff we got the money, okay? She's just a friend we picked up." Puck explained. Rico glared into the backseat, and Rachel stared right back at him. She seemed almost fearless which only made Rico angrier.

He slammed his hand down on the hood causing Quinn and Rachel to jump in their seats. He laughed along with his boys and then turned to face me. "You're a lot cuter than I remember _puta_." Rico said pressing his body against me so that I was nearly falling onto the hood of the car. I shoved him back hard and he fell to the ground I would've pounced on him I swear I would've killed him but when I saw his buddy Martin pull a gun I held back.

"We're cool, don't worry we're cool." I assured them but Martin didn't put the gun down until Rico got back up to his feet.

"Alright, check you later baby girl…we're out." Rico said winking at me before he and his crew drove off.

"I'm so sick of his shit!" I snapped as I slid into the backseat and Puck got in the passenger's seat. "And what on earth are you doing hanging around here at night? Do you just not listen or are you stupid?"

"I was helping with some inventor at the bank. I even was going to use the redline like you told me." She said putting on the most innocent shy grin that any human could muster up. I couldn't even be mad at her at this point because she was just naïve. "What were you guys doing out there?" Yep she was naïve and she clearly thought the best of everyone. Quinn, Puck, and I were scoundrels downright scoundrels and she was looking at me like I was an idol.

"Tell that chick to stop asking questions." Puck said angrily looking at Rachel through the rearview mirror. I knew he was upset but he didn't have to take it out on her, she didn't do anything to him.

"Puck it was nothing, Rico's always like that." I reminded him. He didn't seem convinced or pleased.

"I hate when he touches you." Puck muttered. I could see Rachel out of the corner of my eye gazing between Puck and I.

"Thanks but I don't need a big brother-."

"Yeah well maybe you do." Puck snapped before I could finish my sentence. I couldn't believe he went there, especially when he knew I wouldn't say anything with a stranger in the car. I crossed my arms over my chest and looked out the window wondering if I could jump out at the speed we were going. Where were we going? Back to Puck's I assumed.

"Wait, where are we taking her?" I asked.

"She can come over my house." Puck suggested with a sly grin. "Don't worry I don't bite." He said winking at Rachel who was practically squirming in her seat she was so uncomfortable.

"No way, you pig." Quinn said hitting Puck in the shoulder hard. "Well it's too late for her to be on those sketchy buses…you can stay with me." Quinn offered and that sounded like the best idea after all.

I looked over at Rachel to see if she was up for it, but she looked unsure. I noticed a slight look of disappointment but I didn't know why. Quinn's apartment was pretty nice and she had food there, what more could she ask for? Maybe she was upset because she wanted something more luxurious, but this is what she gets for roaming around Heights at night. "Why can't I stay with you?" Rachel whispered under the gentle bass of the music Puck had just turned on.

"Christ, none of us even want you around…just wait until tomorrow and I promise I'll take you back to your house or whatever. I know you feel uncomfortable around us, but we aren't freaks so stop looking at me like that." I told her. I didn't want to hear what she had to say in response, and I think she knew that. God, this Rachel girl was becoming a real pest.

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	6. Chapter 6

**I hope you enjoy this chapter, this has a little Santana x Quinn in it so you've been warned. Next chapter I shall be introducing Ms. Lopez hopefully, and maybe explaining the Brittany incident in the chapter after. You'll just have to keep reading to see, enjoy.**

"Quinn! Quinn! Open the hell up, Jesus Christ!" I yelled as I was banging on the door. It was now two in the afternoon, and I wanted to go to the drug store to get something to drink. Quinn had money and I knew she didn't care if I borrowed some.

"Hi." I didn't expect the little midget, Rachel, to open the door. Quinn was supposed to take her back to wherever she lived or drop her off at the redline hours ago. I walked past the shorter girl without responding and started walking straight towards Quinn's bathroom where I could here the shower just being turned off.

"Quinn I'm gonna kill you." I said opening the door and closing it behind me. Quinn stared at me naked and with uninterested eyes. I glanced down at her body for a moment before she covered herself with a white towel. "Not bad Fabray." I joked.

"What are you doing? Wait outside." She ordered but I wasn't about to let her demand anything. Was she not aware that she had a stranger in her house right now?

"What gives? You've got that Rachel girl here, did you know that?" I questioned.

"Look I was about to take her back this morning, but she was humming some stupid song…she got Brittany to come out of her room. I had to keep her around." I leaned back on the door and crossed my arms over my chest. Well that was accomplishing something. When Brittany locked herself in her room, she usually stayed there for days.

"So what do you want her to hang around with us forever now?" I scuffed rolling my eyes in annoyance and amusement. Quinn giggled and the way her hair was tossed over her shoulders right now made me a little more interested than I should have been.

"Stop checking me out Pez." Quinn said looking over her shoulder playfully. She began putting on her underwear which made me upset. God, couldn't she just stay nude for awhile, it's not like we were in a rush. "What are you thinking about?" She asked turning and facing me. I walked over towards her so that my body was pressed against hers and I placed my hands gingerly on her hips. She didn't squirm or say anything, which let me know that she was defiantly thinking about it.

I pushed her up higher against the sink and within moments her legs were wrapped around my waist. I leaned down and kissed her slowly, waiting for her to open her mouth and let me explore some more. Quinn was all about being gentle, even though she had her arms wrapped around my neck she wasn't tugging me closer, she just let her arms lay there limp.

"Quinn, Brittany says that she's ready to go outside." Rachel said from outside the bathroom door.

"Fuck, shit, dammit." I muttered in that order as the interruption caused Quinn and I to stop kissing.

Quinn was giggling uncontrollably as she dropped herself to a standing position and put on her shirt. "I'll be out in a few minutes." Quinn shouted. She looked over at me and shooed me away before I could protest.

"God, you were so thinking about it." I said to Quinn who shrugged and began brushing her teeth. I opened the bathroom door and there Rachel was sitting on the couch with Brittany at her side. I went over to the kitchen and grabbed some water and tried to avoid all conversation with Rachel, but that was useless.

"Hi Santana, how was your night?" She asked cheerfully.

"Uneventful." I deadpanned. "Britt you good?" The blonde turned around to face me with a smile and that's all I needed as an answer. I was happy that she was feeling better, but not that I had to spend my time with Rachel. There had to be something Brittany liked about Rachel though, it couldn't just be her voice, could it? Brittany only connected with certain people and judging by the way she was playing around with Rachel, I knew they had connected somehow.

"So I hear you can sing short stuff. Let's hear." I challenged. She stood up and swung around the couch like she owned the place. I smirked; I didn't mind a woman who felt like she was powerful.

"Maybe when I feel like it." She responded with a cocky grin. Okay now I was starting to like this girl a little more. Anyone who had the skewed thought that they could challenge me, was charming in my book. "Oh Quinn you're ready!" Rachel exclaimed happily.

"Let's go!" I said and everyone followed. Quinn walked beside Brittany when we were outside, trying to control her sister's random outburst of excitement when she saw a butterfly or a cool looking car. The drug store was only a few blocks away so having Rachel walking beside me wasn't too bad. I couldn't blame her for much, she didn't know better.

"So, you lied to me about you and that Puck kid dating." I couldn't believe she just said it like that. Like it was a fact or something.

"I didn't lie about that!" I said maybe a little too defensively. It wasn't that I was repulsed by the act of dating Puck, it was just all boys grossed me out. Puck was like a brother to me, more than my actual brother. Just thinking about dating him made me flinch a little bit. "Puck's my boy; you can't be serious about that. You don't even know me." I said dismissing her.

"So last night, that was a…drug deal of some sorts?" She questioned. I looked down at her and into her eyes. She was just one of those curious types. It was ridiculous to answer any of her questions, because I know she's just going to come back with more.

"Of some sorts yeah." I said quickly. "So are you like a reporter or something? Sent in to gain an understanding of hoodlum life?"

"No, nothing like that. You don't have to be defensive; I'm not going to hurt you." I paused for a second letting what she said sink in. She was right, I was being defensive because I didn't want to get hurt. That showed that she wasn't just oblivious and she may not live here, but she understands how I feel. Everyone just wants to be protected and loved, but a lot of us can't have it all.

"You're damn right you're not." I cracked a smile to let her know that I was kidding, and she began laughing along with me. "So look I know I was giving you a hard time before, and I guess you're not that terrible. I just wanna say thanks for doing whatever to get Brittany out of the little episode, that was really cool of you." I said sincerely.

"It wasn't a big deal-."

"No it _is_ a big deal. I haven't seen her like this in awhile…and if Brittany is happy then so am I." Rachel looked down at her tiny feet and smiled to herself. "Um I guess Quinn's gonna want you to come with us to hang out with Puck tonight. I don't know if you'd wanna-."

"Yes." She said enthusiastically.

"Just stick with me alright, can you promise me that?" I asked her just as we were walking up to the entrance of the store.

"Yeah, I'll be with you the whole night." She said with a smile. God she was such a loser, but a nice girl. It wasn't going to be that bad tonight, if we just laid low everything would be alright.


	7. Chapter 7

**I'm sort of into the whole Quinn and Santana side fling thing so I have to keep that going. But then end of this chapter starts the Pezberry. I already have an idea for the next chapter so meeting the rest of the Lopez family will just have to wait. Enjoy.**

As soon as I walked into Finn's house, I made a beeline for the booze. It wasn't like I could stand Big Foot, but he had a nice house with lots of liquor and at this moment lots of people. I didn't mind that Rachel was clinging to me like a puppy. Actually, it was sort of cute in a stalker sort of way. "If you're planning on drinking everything, maybe you should just get a bigger cup." Rachel offered jokingly as I finished up my third shot.

"Hey that's kinda funny." I said offering her a shot, she declined and that couldn't have amused me more. "No way, you aren't here to not have fun. You're drinking and that's final." She shook her head 'no', and even though I admired her stubbornness, I was used to getting what I wanted from people.

"You can't make me do anything." She said firmly crossing her hands over her chest.

"Santana will you dance with me?" Brittany asked happily pulling me towards the dance floor. I stood firmly in place, I could dance with Brittany, not with Quinn right there.

"Uh, I don't know if that's such a good idea. Maybe you should dance with Rachel." I suggested and Brittany seemed to like the idea because she grabbed Rachel and pulled her out to the dance floor. I would have been completely content with just watching to see if Rachel had any moves, but Quinn caught my attention before I could.

"Hey lame ass." Quinn said wrapping her arm around my shoulder. "You wanna dance? I don't know why I'm asking because you're gonna say yes." I couldn't believe how cocky Quinn was acting. I smiled and she tugged me out on the dance floor and turned her body around so that she was grinding slowly against my body. She knew that I wanted to pull her in closer and I wanted to be in control, but she wouldn't let me. She was completely in control and I didn't like that.

"Quinn, come on." I said pulling her back against me. I tried to put my hands on her hips but she pushed me away. She put her hands on my hips instead and pushed her back against my chest. I hated this little show of dominance Quinn was putting on. I chanced a look over at Rachel and Brittany who were jumping around and all smiles. They looked adorable over there just having fun. I wonder how hard Quinn would kick my ass if she found out that I kissed Brittany, my guess would be that she'd probably kill me. "Why can't we finish what we started earlier?" I asked into her ear. She turned slightly so that she could look over her shoulder at me.

"In your dreams." She said with a wink.

"I know you want to so badly." I reminded her and that's when she turned around to face me. She wrapped her arms around my neck and I could feel more than one set of eyes on me. I thought she was going to kiss me, honestly that's what I thought, but she didn't.

"It's not gonna happen." Quinn whispered to me with that husky voice of hers and then she just walked away. I didn't watch her go over to grab herself a drink instead I walked over to where Puck was seated.

"Dude, totally thought Quinn was gonna kiss you." Puck said nonchalantly.

"Fuck you." I muttered still frustrated that I had just let Quinn take control.

"You guys have been eye fucking for weeks, just go after her." Puck suggested. The problem was it just was not that easy. Quinn and I were friends, or at least that's what we're supposed to be. I like it this way, we flirt a lot but it never really gets beyond kissing or a little grinding. Puck was right though, it had heated up a little recently, but I couldn't take all that to heart. "So you brought that weird girl, Rachel, huh?" Puck said holding his beer up towards Rachel who was now talking to Finn and Brittany.

"Well I mean Quinn sorta made me. She brought Brittany out of one of those strange episodes of hers. Even I'm fucking impressed with that." I told him honestly.

"What are you going soft or something?" Puck said nudging me in the side.

"Oh please…" I said snatching his beer from him and taking a few gulps. "Whoa, hold up, what does that freak of nature friend of yours think he's doing?" I asked as I watched Finn try and cop a feel with Rachel. I was over there in seconds pushing him away before he could try something else. "Dude didn't your mom ever teach you to keep those monster hands of yours to yourself?" I questioned.

"Santana what the hell? Why do you hate me so much?" Finn asked with that scrunchy confused face that he always seems to be sporting.

"Because I think you're an asshole, that's why." I told him honestly. Rachel was standing behind me and I wondered what she thought of this. What was I even doing trying to protect her? Maybe she didn't need protection. I turned around and pushed between Rachel and Brittany and jogged upstairs and outside.

It didn't shock me at all that Finn had swings in his backyard. I rolled my eyes and thought about swinging on them just for a second, but rejected the thought quickly. Who was I strawberry shortcake or something? I was not going soft here. I looked up at the sky and wishing that I could see the stars for once. Damn the stupid industries and their unbelievable pollution. Damn all the lights shinning from the buildings a few streets down. There was no way I was ever going to see the stars, not out here.

"Are you alright?" I turned around in shock but I quickly regained my composure. It was only Rachel.

"What do you want?" I asked a little too coldly. I wasn't mad at her, I was just made at this city. It wasn't her fault that I couldn't get out of here.

"I wanted to say thank you for getting that very large boy to leave me alone. I was actually afraid to tell him to back off just because of his size. You were very brave to do that-."

"Do you always talk like that?" I asked her with a playful laugh.

"Not always." She said proving her point right there.

"I only did that because I do think Finn's an asshole. I mean look at him…total tool in my mind. Plus he's the kind of who looks for vulnerable girls to hook up with." I explained to her.

"Is that a thing with your friends? I mean you and Quinn-."

"Hold on you know nothing about that." I said stopping her midsentence. "And it's not like that and it never will be…why don't you go back inside?" I asked her trying to get her off my tail.

"You told me to stay with you the whole night." She said innocently.

"Aren't your parents worried about you? Won't they be pissed once they find out you've been spending your time in this shithole of a town?" I questioned.

"I'm not afraid of this place." She said quietly. I rolled my eyes because it didn't seem like I could knock any sense into this girl's head anytime soon. I kicked the gravel under my feet and bent down to pick up a small stone. I chucked it over the fence and watched it knock into Finn's neighbor's doghouse. "Are you frustrated?"

"Of course I am." I snapped. "I don't want you coming in here and thinking you're going to fix everything. Some times words are all people need, like with Brittany, but everything else…it's just different. If you wanna come in here and learn about what Heights is like do it from a distance." I warned her.

"I just told you I'm not afraid-."

"Well then start being afraid. You're a nice girl, I don't want you to get pull into this. What will it take for you to go away from here and never come back? Do you need someone to get hurt?" I whipped out my switchblade from my pocket and held it up in front of her face. Fear and confusion crossed her eyes.

"What are you doing? I haven't done anything to you." She said in a pleading tone. I put the weapon back in my pocket

"Sorry…" I said walking over and taking a seat on the swing. Rachel sat down on the swing next to me and watched me intently.

"You've been through a lot." She stated and all I could do is shrug in response. "Sometimes when you're silent you say more than you think." I looked over and connected my dark eyes with those large chocolate eyes of Rachel's. "I know I'm an outsider to you, but don't ignore me because of that."

"How are you getting home?" I asked her changing the subject.

"Redline." She said with a slight grin. I couldn't help but smile too.

"I'll ride the bus with you, it's late and you never know who is gonna be on that bus." I explained to her.

"You don't have to-."

"I know." I told her as I stood up. "But I am."


	8. Chapter 8

**Here's some Pezberry for you guys. I hope you like it. **

After the second punch, I was down. Usually I could take at least three before I finally cave but this time was different. This time I was getting my face smashed in and there was nothing I could do about it. I tried covering my face but that was no use. The holes in my defense continued to be exploited. One hit after another.

"Stop the violence…stop….please stop…" Brittany had been repeating that for the past few minutes, but Quinn wasn't stopping. She hit me again harder this time. I never realized how strong Quinn really was. I guess this is what she's like when she can't control her anger.

"I'm gonna fucking kill you!" Quinn said hitting me across my face. I felt like my skull was being cracked open and I couldn't take it anymore. I pushed Quinn off me and I thought about charging at her and giving her a taste of my fist but I didn't. Quinn was standing with her hips pressed up against her couch and I was lying on my back trying pull myself out of this daze. I felt like an one thousand weight was on my chest and someone had just lit my face on fire.

"You done?" I asked pulling myself up to my feet. I would've fallen right back over if I didn't use the counter for total support.

"I can't believe you did that." I knew she was talking about me kissing Brittany but I didn't understand why she was this mad. I just got my ass kicked and even I wasn't that mad. "Get out Lopez and fucking stay away from Britt." Quinn wasn't leaving this open for discussion. I could tell by the way her hazel eyes looked like they were on fire right now. I looked over at Brittany and she looked terrified.

"High or low Britt?" I asked her quietly.

"I'm low San, I'm really low and it scares me." I wanted to help her but Quinn was standing in between Brittany and me. I should've burned those prescriptions and made sure Brittany never had to take those pills again. I walked towards the door and took one last look at Quinn who was glaring through me. I had to leave, so I did.

I didn't have time to fix up my face. I could save all that for later. Right now I had to run to the food bank because we were close to running out of food. Again. I just threw on a zip up hoodie and jeans and took off. I prayed to God, Allah and David Bowie that no one stopped me on the way there, and thankfully, no one did.

I knew Rachel was going to be here and the way her usually perky expression changed when I got to the front of the line let me know that I wasn't hiding my injuries very well. "What happened?" Rachel asked gently touching my face with her hand.

"Nothing." I muttered as I grabbed my box of food and turned to leave. Rachel ran around the counter and blocked my way to the door. "I got into a fight." I elaborated a little more. Rachel turned to look at her co-worker. They must have been working together for awhile because no words were exchanged, the girl just nodded and Rachel followed me out the door. "This seems sort of familiar." I joked with a resentful tone.

"Who did you get in a fight with?" She questioned. "Those bruises look bad; I can help you if you want-."

"I don't need any help." I assured her. I tried to pick up my pace but those little legs of hers were moving just as fast as mine were. "Quinn hits a lot harder than you think, you know." I said stopping in my tracks. I didn't know whether to look at Rachel or out towards the road. I decided to look at Rachel.

"Quinn did this to you?" She asked in shook. "You're friends though…why did she do this?" Rachel questioned.

"That's a long story." I told her. "She'll forgive me eventually." I said mostly to convince myself. I continued walking towards my apartment with Rachel at my side. "Were you supposed to leave work? I don't want to get you in trouble."

"I sort of expect you to be one of those 'trouble is my middle name' types." I laughed and so did she. "My father bought me a car." She said out of the blue. A little pang of jealousy hit me and I had to look away from her.

"Lucky you." I said between clenched teeth.

"Wanna take a ride?" I smirked to myself but shook my head no. A ride? The only time I ever take rides with people is when I'm actually going somewhere, never for just fun. Rachel's smile faded and so did mine. "Why not? We could go get ice cream or something. It's a hot day out." Rachel offered. I stopped on the sidewalk in front of my apartment debating whether or not I should invite Rachel up or not.

"Um…alright." I said opening the front door to the apartment with my right hand while attempting to balance the box with my left hand. Rachel held the door open to help me and followed me up the steps without saying anything. "I'm just gonna put this inside." I told her once we were standing outside my door. When I heard the floorboards creek from the steps I looked over to see Sammy and Blanco Ramirez walking up the stairs. They looked over at Rachel and I with sadistic smirks. "Come in." I urged Rachel before those guys could even think about giving us a hard time.

I could feel Rachel's eyes on me as I put the food in my small beat up cupboards in my weak excuse of a kitchen. I could feel the judgment even though she wasn't saying anything. When I turned around Rachel was standing only a few inches away from me. I opened my mouth to say something but quickly closed it when she brushed my hair out of my face and examined my bruises more carefully.

"I can fix those up for you." She offered. I stifled a laugh.

"No thanks." I said putting the last can up. Rachel backed up and looked down at the ground.

"I took a class on conflict mediation, I'm sure I could help you and Quinn work through this if you wanted me to. I mean there's clearly a root to this problem-."

"Which is none of your business." I said smiling at the shorter girls attempts at understanding. I could tell that she just wanted to help me out which I thought was rather sweet. "Are we going to get ice cream or what?" I asked and Rachel beamed before we exited my apartment. We began walking towards the steps when I saw that Sammy and Blanco were standing there blocking our way. There was no other way down so I continued walking towards them. "Excuse me." I said in a harsh tone.

"You go in there for a quickie Lopez?" Sammy asked rudely checking out Rachel.

"You got a death wish? Say some shit like that again and I'll claw out your eyes asshole." Sammy looked at his brother waiting for some backup, which never came. I knocked my shoulder into Sammy, he nearly fell down the steps backwards as Rachel, and I moved past them.

"Thanks." Rachel said with a pink tint spreading across her cheeks once we were outside.

"God you're welcome." I said rolling my eyes at how bashfully shy she'd become. "Now come on, I wants to get my ice cream on."

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	9. Chapter 9

**I was feeling a double update day, so here you go. Enjoy.**

"Wow this car is pretty amazing. Hybrid huh?" I said examining the outside of Rachel's new car. It was bright blue and like no car I'd ever seen around here. I got in the passenger's seat and ran my fingers over the beautiful finishing of the car. This car must have cost more money than my family would ever have. "Your dad is a cool guy, was the car a gift?" I asked once we'd been driving for a few minutes.

"For good grades this year." She said in a modest tone. "What um…school do you go to?" She questioned curiously. I looked over at her intently wondering if she was asking because she actually wanted to know or because she knew what kind of school Lima Heights offered.

"I don't." I told her hoping that would be a good enough answer. "I mean…I go sometimes. Just enough to pass the grade, but I can't go too much." I didn't know how deep I wanted to get into this subject, but Rachel sure seemed like she wanted to know more.

"Are your parents okay with that? What do you do when you stay home?" She asked.

"Puck and I hang out…we go find trouble, find a job or something. We've gotta make money you know." She nodded but kept her eyes firmly on the road. She reached out her hand and turned her radio up so there was a balance between the building tension between us and the music. Adele's _Rolling in the Deep _was playing and I couldn't help but smile when I started to notice that Rachel had begun singing along.

I was just about to make fun over her when the chorus began and her voice broke through. I couldn't believe it, how could a voice like that come from a small girl like her? My heart was beating faster and faster and I didn't know why. It had to be because of that magical voice of her, it was so beautiful. I was absolutely stunned.

"Wha-….w-…wow." I stammered out as the song ended.

"Impressed?" She questioned with a wink. How could I tell her that I was more than impressed? And why on earth couldn't I talk like a normal human being right now? "Years of vocal training and Glee club." My face scrunched up in confusion as Rachel pulled into a parking spot on the street in front of an ice cream parlor.

"Glee club?" I said bewildered.

"It's a club where me and my friends sing and dance and mostly prepare for competitions. It's a lot of fun really. I mean except when everyone ridicules me because I have too much ambition." I smirked to myself as we got out of the car. A club where all you had to do was sing and dance? That sounded like a lot of fun.

"Ambition is good, and with a voice like that I'm sure you're winning all the competitions anyway." Rachel's cheeks flared red and she quickly turned away from me. I rushed up to the ice cream parlor door and held it open for her hoping that she'd lead the way with all of this.

"Thank you." She said quietly as we walked inside. The place was brightly lit and all the people behind the counter seemed to have smiles plastered on their faces. Even more surprising to me was that the place was spotless and no one was yelling. "Kurt! You never told me you worked here!" Rachel said to the feminine looking boy who gave Rachel a huge smile

"I just got the job, I mean it was either this or working at my dad's car shop…hello I do not look good in mechanic's gear." The boy said playfully. His smile slowly faded as he took in my appearance. Rachel's eyes followed his to me.

"Oh how rude of me, Kurt this is Santana, Santana this is my best friend Kurt." We both nodded in acknowledgement but didn't shake hands. The way he was looking at my face I might as well have been inhuman. "We'll have two double scoop chocolate and vanilla sundaes." Rachel ordered. The ice cream was ready in no time and Rachel paid for them before ushering me towards a seat. We sat down across from one another in the table closets to the window.

This was the first time I'd been out of Lima Heights in a few months and everything looked so vivid here. I looked across the table and caught Rachel's chocolate eyes staring at me. "You don't like it?" She asked sadly glancing down at my untouched ice cream.

"No! It's not that I just…I haven't been out of Heights in awhile." I explained to her before taking a huge spoonful of ice cream downing it in seconds. Rachel's smile returned when she saw that I was eating the ice cream. "So your friend Kurt seems cool." I said making small talk.

"He's been looking over here every five seconds." Rachel admitted with a giggle. "I think he's scared of you." Even I had to laugh at that.

"Do I look like a bad ass?" I asked grinning.

"Those bruises do make you look pretty tough. I mean if I didn't know you then I'd probably be making all kinds of judgments. Like maybe you're a thug or maybe you just robbed somebody and they happened to fight back." I listened to Rachel's descriptions with amusement in my eyes, but a little bit of sorrow in my heart. Even though Rachel was joking, I knew that's how some people saw me.

"Can I ask you something?" I said leaning over the table slightly.

"Of course." She said as her eyes widened with inquisitiveness.

"When I held that knife up to you a few nights ago, why weren't you afraid?" She opened her mouth to respond but I beat her to it. "And don't give me that shit about how you're not afraid of Heights because that just doesn't make sense to me."

"I knew you wouldn't hurt me." She said quietly. "And those bruises on your face let me know that I was right." Now I was confused what did these bruises have to do with that night?

"What do you mean?"

"You could've really hurt Quinn if you wanted to, but you didn't. You don't like hurting people that part is evident to me. Plus when I was over Quinn's house all Brittany could talk about was how cool San was." Rachel and I broke out into cheerful laughter and finished our ice cream. I tossed away the napkins we used and waited for Rachel to say goodbye to her friend Kurt. I held open the door for her again and she whispered thank you just like she had before.

"So…Lima, Ohio…the perfect utopian society." I said looking all around me. "Do you guys have any people of color out here, jeez?" I said as the sixth person who walked by eyed me curiously. Rachel giggled and walked along side me down the road. I stared into the shops that sold plain shirts for forty dollars and the fashion of fit men and women walking by.

"They're looking at your bruises not the color of your skin." Rachel informed me but I just shrugged. "Are you sure you don't want me to take care of those. They can get infected." She warned me.

"I think I'll take my chances." I told her. We made our way back to her car and she began driving back to my apartment. "So how much do I owe you? With the gas money and all?"

"Nothing silly." She said laughing. "This was my offer anyway."

"No, I owe you. I'll come by the food bank tomorrow and pay you back." I promised. Rachel pulled up to my apartment and I could see Quinn sitting on the stoop next to a sad looking Brittany. They didn't notice me but Rachel and I noticed them. "Shit." I muttered reaching for the door handle. Rachel leaned over and stopped me from opening the door.

"I don't think it's a good idea for you to talk to her now." Rachel said and I couldn't agree more. Rachel pulled out her cell phone and handed it to me. I had no idea why she did this but I held the expensive looking phone in my hand. "Put your number in."

"I'm dirt poor, and you expect me to have a cell phone?" I questioned with a quirked eyebrow.

"I saw you texting someone at that Finn boy's party." She said. I smiled because I was caught and because Rachel had been watching me at Finn's party. I put my cell number in her phone and got out of the vehicle. I tossed the phone to her which she not-so-gracefully caught.

"I'll see you later short stack." I joked as she waved and drove off. I turned around and saw Quinn eyeing me curiously and Brittany sporting a small smile. I knew if I went over there by them then Quinn and I would get into it again, so I turned the other way and walked across the street. I'd just chill out in the liquor store until Quinn and Brittany went back upstairs.


	10. Chapter 10

**So you guys get to quickly meet Santana's brother and mother in this chapter. Don't worry there will be a lot of elaborating about the tension. **

"_Mija_, where have you been? What happened to your face?" My mom grabbed my face and pulled me closer to her so that she could examine my features. "_Por Dios mija_!" She exclaimed running a towel under some cool water and pressing it to my lip. I winced a little but endured the pain hoping that she wouldn't ask any questions.

"_Mami_, it's fine." I assured her pulling away.

"Where did you get those bruises? Have you been messing around with those gangs Tana?" My mom's creaked with anger and I sat down at the table slowly. I know what gangs can do to a family and nothing good ever comes from it, but if my mom found out I was tagging with Puck and Quinn she'd kill me.

"No, you know I wouldn't." She thought so low of me, even though she knew that night wasn't my fault. I turned when I heard a loud knock at the door. It was past ten o'clock at night and my mom was getting ready to go to her night shift job at the free clinic. No one should have been knocking and the only person that I could think of that would come over is Quinn. My mom looked at me waiting for me to move and get the door but I couldn't. If it was Quinn, I wouldn't be able to face her right now.

"What am I slave? I do absolutely everything around here and you can't get up and get the door?" My mom rambled off as she walked towards the door. When I heard my mother gasp I knew it couldn't be good. I jumped up out of my chair and rushed over to see who it was.

I could honestly say that I wasn't expecting to see my older brother wheeling in through my apartment door anytime soon. My mother and I parted so that he could go past us, both of us speechless. The last time he was here he got into it with my mom over money. Sure he's in a wheel chair but she said that he needed to get a job. He thinks he's too good for that, he's always thought he's too good for everything. That was over a month ago, and now my mom's lips were sealed and she held a demeanor of anger and fear. "Glad to see that you're back Emilio, I have to go to work…you're welcome back as always." She barley looked at him before she exited the apartment.

I crossed my arms over my chest and glared at my brother from where I was standing. He looked rugged and he wasn't cleanly shaven like he always used to be. He wasn't even wearing his signature army jacket. Honestly, he looked pitiful, but I held little pity for me. "Can't say I expected a party or anything." He joked trying to brighten the mood.

"You should've called first." I said shaking my head at him.

"And say what? That I ran out of money up there in Cleveland? No way! I had to come back here, you know why." He said wheeling past me and searching the refrigerator for food but only finding old takeout and milk.

"No I really don't."

"I'm a hero down here-." I scuffed and walked past him to sit down on the couch. Who did he think he was? He's acting like some sort of martyr for the cause. He was all just talk to me.

"To who? You got it in with the Royals, you sold out Heights for shit money…and then you got out. You know what kind of shit I get for that? It's hard when you know that gangs out to get you, but you don't know when they'll strike." I explained to him.

"Yeah well I think I know." He said pointing to his paralyzed legs. "Did the Royals do that to your face?" He asked.

"And if they did? It's not like you could do anything about it." I told him.

"It's always the short straw with you! I can't even breathe without you scrutinizing me! I fucking said I'm sorry about what happened to her, when will that ever be enough?" He snapped. I wanted to punch his face in but instead I clenched my fist as tightly as I could.

"Apologizing won't help you fucking asshole-." The soft knock at the door was barley audible. But I heard it well enough. I didn't care who it was, I just needed an excuse to get away from my brother before I killed him. I flung open the door and there was Rachel standing in front of me. She was holding alcohol wipes and cotton balls in one hand and a dry cloth in the other. "Rachel…what the hell are you doing?" I whispered. This could not be happening, not with my brother inside right now.

"I know you don't know me very well but one thing you should know is that when I get something on my mind I can't get it out. I've been thinking about those bruises of yours since I dropped you off, and I just had this compulsive need to come and fix them. I could lie and say that I'm doing this for medical purposes but it's mostly because I like to control everything and repair anything." I couldn't believe that she said that all in one breath but mostly I was surprised that I didn't slam the door in her face.

"Come in." I offered but I refused to let her look around like she had before. I grabbed her hand and pulled her past my brother and into my room. She didn't ask who the man in the wheelchair was and I didn't feel like I had to tell her. "So what am I like your pet project or something?" I asked flopping down on my bed and watching as she ran her fingers over just about everything in my room.

"_Pet _has the meaning of being small, I consider you a very big project actually." I didn't know if she was joking or not and I was afraid to ask so I just leaned back further on my bed. "Sit up." Rachel ordered.

"I'd rather endure the pain in this position." I told her closing my eyes and relaxing. "Ow!" I screeched jumping up to a seat position. Rachel giggled as she dabbed my lip again with the painfully healing alcohol rub. She focused intensely on my lips, and I couldn't help my eyes from falling to hers. She was standing right in front of me her knees gracing mine every time she got a new cotton ball or moved to a new bruise. I didn't really mind this, it felt nice for someone to take care of me like this even if it was Rachel. "You're really good at this." I told her grabbing her hand before she could reach for another cotton ball.

"What?" She said giggling and biting her lower lip trying to control her laughs.

"I can't believe you came all the way out her just to clean these stupid bruises." I said suddenly feeling self-conscious. I let go of her hand but looked down at the ground so she wouldn't be able to clean any more of my bruises. "Thank you." I told her earnestly. She threw away the soiled cotton balls and sat down awkwardly on the corner of my bed while I lay down on my back again.

" So have you talked to Quinn?" Rachel asked.

"Nope, she'll come around hopefully…" I said staring up at my ceiling.

"I think you should've hit her back." What the tiny girl said shocked me. I thought she'd be the non-violence type. I propped myself up on my elbows and chanced a quick look at her. She wasn't looking at me before but she turned and looked over at me now.

"Brittany was right there." I said shrugging. I looked over at my clock and it read 11:49. It was way too late for Rachel to drive back home. Shit. I didn't want her to stay here, especially not with Emilio here. "Did you lock your car?" I asked her and she nodded with a confused expression. "You can stay the night if you want. I mean I know you said you weren't afraid-."

"I'm shocked you offered." She said grinning from ear to ear.

"Trust me…I'm pretty surprised myself."


	11. Chapter 11

**Sorry I took a bit to update, a mild case of writers block hit me. Anyway here you go. Enjoy.**

I didn't want to give up my bed but I also didn't want to destroy Rachel's image of me. Every time she looked at me those deep chocolate eyes of hers lit up and I didn't want to ruin that. I wasn't upset that I was going to sleep on the floor. I was embarrassed because I couldn't offer Rachel a snack or even a shower because our damn water had been shut off for just about a week. She didn't seem to mind, she never complained or gave me a look of superiority which I'm sure she felt deep down inside.

I was propped up on my elbow playing around with my switchblade while Rachel was lying down in my tiny bed occasionally looking down at me. "You shouldn't sleep with that thing? It's dangerous." She said when I put the blade under my pillow.

"Have you ever called the police?" I asked her.

"No." She said wondering where I was going with this.

"I have…out here they don't even show up sometimes. Wouldn't you feel safer if I could at least try and protect you?" I asked her. She didn't answer instead she laid back down on my bed looking straight up at the ceiling. I wondered why she did this; the only light that we could see was the artificial light of _Romeo's Barber Shop_ across the street.

"So are you going to tell me who that man is out there?" Rachel asked.

"My brother." I said too quickly. I didn't want to talk about this. He'd caused my family enough pain and it'd be much better if Rachel didn't know.

"You never told me about-."

"I didn't think it mattered." I snapped at her unexpectedly even to myself. "Let's go to sleep…I'm tired as hell."

"Rachel get up." It was like she was hibernating. I had been trying to wake up the little munchkin for about ten minutes now and every time she moved it was to reposition herself more comfortably under the cover. I tried to yank the cover off her but when I pulled back she held on for dear life. I fell right beside the sleeping girl with one arm over her waist. Oh my god, I jumped up and walked over so that I could see her face. "Rachel! Jesus fucking Christ!" I yelled this time and she blinked twice before opening her eyes and looking up at me.

"Why are you yelling?" Rachel asked in a voice raspier than her own. Why did she look so incredibly adorable right now? Was in the way her hair was messily tangled and covering half of her face. Or maybe it was because she insisted on sleeping in some of my own clothes that were defiantly oversized.

"You wouldn't get up." I said laughing. She smiled and lifted up the covers so that she could stand up. We were only a few inches apart and for a second I thought about moving back to give her room. Neither of us moved, but we both opened our mouths to say something but we didn't. I inadvertently licked my lips and when I realized what I just did I looked down at the ground. "Come on I'll walk you to the food bank." I told her. She nodded and I noticed the pink tint fading a little from her cheeks. She bent down and reached for her clothes from the day before. "No wait…um, you can wear something of mine. I'm sure I have something smaller." I opened up my modest closet and searched for something for the smaller girl to wear. I found a pair of tight fitting jeans from my middle school days and a casual shirt, which looked like they'd work perfectly.

I turned my body around so that Rachel could change comfortably. When she was ready, I smiled at how adorable she looked. "What?" She asked me curiously. I just shook my head and we left my room without another word. My brother was lying down on the couch watching the news, which was one of two channels that we got here. He looked over his shoulder at Rachel and I and a small smug smile formed on his face.

"How was she?" He asked Rachel who began to blush ferociously.

"Jesus Christ." I muttered to myself. "Emilio _por favor_!" I snapped at him trying to make things less awkward for Rachel. That was not okay of him to say something like that to her. Rachel wasn't one of those girls that I occasionally bring over, she was just a friend. "We didn't." I assured him sternly before we left the apartment.

It was extremely sunny out today and I regretted wearing a jacket even if it was paper-thin. Rachel was walking on the left side of me down the sidewalk. I walked around her so that I was on her left. "Something wrong with my right side?" She asked furrowing her eyebrows.

"No I…it's something my dad taught me." I told her honestly. She eyed me curiously but didn't say anything in response. It was chivalrous; it's what guys were supposed to do when they were with girls. You always stood next to the street to protect the girl. I guess it was something my father taught Emilio, because he didn't know that I am gay. "Shit your car." I said suddenly realizing that she'd driven over to my house.

"It's okay I sort of left it at your apartment on purpose." I cocked an eyebrow and she continued. "I mean…I wanted an excuse to come back." I turned away from her, completely unsure of what she meant by that. Why on earth would she want to come back to my shithole apartment. "I enjoyed hanging out with you. It's rather fun."

"Oh…really?" I said smiling as I scratched the back of my head searching for something else to say. "Maybe after you're done at the food bank, you could maybe hang out with Puck and me? He'll just want to drink, but I mean you don't have to if you don't want to." I think she was smiling because I sounded considerate, or maybe because I sounded like a complete idiot. What was going on with me? Was it me or did I seem a bit flustered around Rachel?

"That sounds amazing, I'd love to…I mean obviously I don't want to drink, but I find Puck to be very interesting and you're a really sweet friend." I liked that she considered us to be friends. She was defiantly not the annoying rich white girl that I thought her up to be before.

I wrapped my arm around her shoulder in a playful way; she cuddled up close to me surprisingly keeping up with my longer strides. When I finally looked up I spotted a dark haired boy wearing a sleeveless back button up shirt and a bowtie along with red pants and checkered shoes. It was Blaine.

"Blaine, what are you doing out here?" I asked grabbing his arm before he could continue past me.

"Santana, come on let go." He said prying my hand off his arm. "I was just going to see my cousin. It's a free country you know." Yeah I knew it was a damn free country, but that didn't mean he could just go walking these streets alone.

"Call Trouty Mouth and get a ride. And stop dressing like that…people will know all about you if you continue wearing fucking bowties." I explained to him sternly. I'd had this conversation with him a million times but he never seemed to listen.

"Santana I'm tired of you giving me shit about this. People don't care that I'm a fag okay." Blaine practically hip checked me as he hustled by. I sighed loudly and ran my hand through my hair. It was exhausting trying to deal with him, it could wait another day.

"Do you think people care?" Rachel asked.

"People around here care. They don't like queers hanging around, it pisses them off, you know?" I tried explaining to her but the fearful expression on her face stopped me from continuing. "Hey are you okay?"

"Yeah I just…you're gay right? I mean I didn't know if you were hiding it or not because everyone seems to think you're sleeping with me." I smiled at the shorter girl.

"Yeah sorry about all that." Rachel looked up at me with worried eyes. "Is that okay? I mean that I like girls?"

"I'm worried about you…I just don't want to see you get hurt."


	12. Chapter 12

**Double Update. You'll learn two things from this chapter. Quinn gets over things easily and Beer + Santana = Bad. Enjoy.**

"Dude come on, it's Quinn she hold grudges for all of two seconds. Let's go get her." Puck said practically shoving me inside my apartment building. Rachel giggled and watched in amusement as I shoved Puck back. "What are you two fighting about anyway?"

"I kissed Brittany remember?" I asked him popping him on the head. He winced and tried to jump after me but Rachel grabbed his arm with both of her hands and tried pulling him back. It was a weak yet adorable attempt and it got Puck to hold back. "This is fucked up, I don't want to start anything with her. She seemed really pissed off before…I mean have you seen my face lately?" Puck chuckled and knocked on Quinn's door getting louder as the seconds went by. "Maybe they're not there-." Brittany flung open the door and grinned from ear to ear when she saw us standing there.

"Hey, Britt." I said and she wrapped her arms eagerly around my neck and pulled me in for a tight hug. When she pulled back I could see a little blond lump lying down on the couch. Quinn must be sleeping. "Quinn asleep?" I slipped past Brittany and walked over to my unconscious friend.

"Hi Rachel, you look pretty." I guess I didn't even have to ask Brittany if she was high or low today because it was damn obvious. I kneeled down so that I was at eye level with Quinn and I watched her for a second. She looked beautiful even when she was asleep. Her features were so soft and innocent I almost didn't want to wake her up. I gently pushed a few stray strands of hair behind her ear but then I noticed something. The room was completely silent. I looked up and saw that Rachel, Puck and Brittany were all watching me. I blushed and cleared my throat before I shook Quinn's shoulder.

"Wake up Fabray." I said and she quickly shot her eyes open and swung her legs over the couch. She was standing in no time so I stood up too.

"What are you doing here?" She asked me in a groggy voice. "What are you all doing here?" She asked before wiping her eyes and looking over at the others.

"Come on Q, let's get out of here. We can go back to my place and get drunk or whatever…and you'd better get over your shit with my little Latina. We all know you want to fuck her so seriously, stop being a bitch." Quinn smirked and so did I. She looked at me and playfully pushed me down on the couch. She leaned down so that her lips were just grazing my ear.

"Don't fuck up again." She said before she looked me intensely in the eyes. "Don't get any ideas either." I watched her walk back to her room, defiantly getting the full sight. I knew she wanted me to watch her backside otherwise she wouldn't have been swaying her hips so much. Quinn changed her clothes quickly and we all decided that we would actually head over to Puck's house.

When we arrived, Puck ushered us all into the basement. He still had vodka and beer out from the other night and I didn't hesitate to grab a beer. Rachel shook her head when I offered her one and I shrugged and plopped down on the couch. "Let's watch a movie!" Brittany exclaimed forcing Puck to turn on the TV and the DVD player. Brittany picked _Beauty and the Beast_ to watch and I rolled my eyes at the girl's childlike qualities.

Puck turned off the lights and took the side couch with Brittany while I sat in between Quinn and Rachel. I was now on my fourth beer and Quinn was on her first shot. "I love this movie." Rachel whispered and I smiled along with Quinn.

"It's classic romance Disney style; I figured this would be your type of film." I told her before taking another sip of my beer. I was a little buzzed which was why when Quinn placed her hand on my upper thigh I wasn't exactly fazed. "Quinn what are you doing?" I whispered to her as she began moving her hand up even higher.

"I missed you." She said before she nibbled down on my ear and began sucking on my neck. I glanced over at Rachel and she was only paying attention to the movie. I leaned over and pressed my lips lightly against hers before I pulled back. Quinn's hand was now under my shirt massaging my abs. "Have you been working out for me?" Rachel turned her head and glanced down at where Quinn's hand was and she looked away quickly. Shit.

"Quinn stop." I said pulling her hand out from under my shirt. I stood up and walked over to grab the bottle of vodka.

"Hey where ya goin?" Puck asked when he saw me heading for the steps.

"Clear my head." I told him before I walked up stairs and out on his porch. I tilted my head back and downed at least one forth of the bottle in one swallow. I leaned back against Puck's porch railing. I thought about heading back home that I was feeling a little strange and drunk. Mostly drunk. I looked up when I heard the rusted floorboards of Puck's porch squeak. Rachel was walking towards me and I scooted over so she had room to lean against the railing too.

"I didn't think it was a good idea to leave you up here alone." Rachel said.

"You were probably right about that." I said before taking another gulp.

"I saw you and Quinn down there." She said looking down at the ground. "I don't understand what's going on between you two." I shrugged and took another gulp of the vodka. I looked over at Rachel and noticed that she was only wearing a tank top now. She must have taken off the other shirt because it was too hot downstairs. Her body was not bad to look at, I could get used to seeing her exactly like this. I liked my lips instinctively and leaned in for a kiss. She let me kiss her but she didn't kiss back. I didn't know if she was just shocked or scared. I bent down to place the vodka bottle down on the ground. I hooked my fingers into Rachel pants' loops and pulled her hips closer to mine. I kissed her again this time more passionately. Jesus those plump lips of hers her thicker than I thought. I deepened the kiss and I was about to travel towards her neck when she began resisting. "Santana, stop…stop." She tried pushing me away but there was no way she was going to get out of this. She wanted me I know she did, and in my state of current drunkenness 'stop' and 'no' were not in my limits of understanding.

"Just let me." I said trying to pull her body closer to mine. Rachel mustered up the strength and pushed me back, smacking me across the face before I could go in and kiss her again. We stood there silent, I wanted to tell her that I was so sorry, that I was too drunk to function but I didn't know how to get the words out. Rachel didn't wait for me to speak instead she ran past me and down the porch steps. I watched her turn the corner still running, and there was only one thing I could do. Chase after her.


	13. Chapter 13

**lily loveless: I have in fact seen that video and drunk Naya is awesome. **

**kyw0202: Yeah I can't stop with the Quintana moments, but Pezberry will always be endgame in this.**

**SilkeLovesSantana: Of course Santana's going to mess things up but she'll fix them don't worry.**

**Enjoy.**

She couldn't have gotten too far, I told myself as I rounded the corner and looked up the street. I spotted her speed walking on the other side of the street and I darted after her. I figure that she could never outrun me and even if she did she'd probably get lost and need my help to get back to her car.

I was surprised at how quickly I'd sobered up actually. Maybe it had to do with the fact that Rachel whacked me across the face. I would've commended her for being so strong, but I decided that's not exactly what she wanted to hear right now. When I was only a few feet from her I slowed my pace. I didn't want her to think that I was going to try anything so I was content with walking behind her. "Rachel, please wait…I'll take you back to Puck's if you want." She shook her head no and continued walking.

"Stay away from me." She said sternly.

"Look you know I didn't mean to do that, I may have had one to many. I'm sorry I really am." I told her in a pleading tone. Leave it to this girl to make me sound like a begging fool. She stopped dead in her tracks and turned to face me. There were tear streaked lines on her face and she wiped her face before she spoke again.

"I thought I could trust you, but you tried to…I-…I can't believe you did that. You thought that I would just let you put your filthy hands all over me because you are…_you._" I looked down at the ground ashamed that I had touched her like that. I know what I did was wrong but it felt good at the time.

"I wasn't trying to hurt you-."

"Well you did!" She snapped. "That was the first…I've never been kissed before." She said quietly. She wrapped her hands around herself and let a few more tears fall. I watched her completely silent. Christ, I had fucked up worse than I had thought. That was her first kiss?

"Shit." I muttered to myself moving closer to her and wiping the tears from her eyes with my thumbs. "I didn't know, I mean…you're so pretty I would've thought…"

"You don't have to lie to me." She said looking down at the ground. "I know I don't look pretty, but that doesn't mean that you have to get drunk to try and make me feel like I am. You didn't make me feel pretty back there you made me feel…used." My heart dropped and I reached out to lift Rachel chin up just enough so that our eyes were connected.

"I promise that I won't do anything like that again but you have to know it wasn't just because I was drunk. You are pretty anyone can see that." I pulled my hand back afraid that I would kiss her again. I looked around us to find that the streets were completely empty and that there weren't even cars cruising by. "Um…I know that you don't really want to be by me right now, but I'll take you back to your car if you want. I know getting drunk in Puck's basement isn't really your scene."

"Yeah you can walk me back." She said. I smiled because it seemed like she wasn't going to hate me forever and because for once the streets didn't look so dangerous. "So if I ask you something, promise you won't get mad?" I tried to gauge what the question was going to be, but got nowhere. Rachel's eyes were huge but they were so mesmerizing it was hard to tell what she was feeling.

"Promise."

"What happened to your brother? Maybe I should ask what happened between you two because I could sense the tension when I was over there." I can't say that I was expecting her to ask that. I wasn't prepared to talk about it with anyone let alone Rachel.

"I um…I'm not mad I just-." I paused for a second trying to compose myself. "I don't know how to talk about this. He got shot that's the short version, but if I tell you to wait on the long version, is that okay?"

"Of course it is." I marveled at the fact that Rachel wasn't pushing me for more. She actually seemed to care and understand that I wasn't ready to talk about this. "Wow you've really sobered up quickly." Rachel said with a light giggle. I laughed along with her and looked over at her amazing smile.

"Usually when someone smacks me across the face-." Rachel nudged me before I could continue and we both broke out into a fit of laughter. "So you don't ever drink? You're a perfect little angel then." I told her as we walked up to her car.

"Not perfect…" She said as she opened up her car door. I don't know why but I really didn't want her to leave. I mean my two options if she left were to go back to Puck's house and get wasted or go upstairs to my apartment and deal with Emilio. Both options did not sound like any fun at all.

"Um…wait." I said stopping her from getting into her car. "Do you wanna come upstairs?" I wanted to smack myself for saying that. Of course, I didn't mean it in a sexual way but that was clearly how Rachel had taken it. "No! I meant like just to stay over…not like _that_." Rachel smiled and nodded.

"I'd love to." Rachel said closing her car door and locking it before following me up to my apartment. I unlocked the door and found Emilio passed out on the couch. I rolled my eyes and took Rachel to my room, making sure to close the door. Rachel had already made herself comfortable on my bed with her shoes off and everything.

"So you don't drink…but what about smoking?" I asked her as I rummaged through my nightstand looking for my stash of weed. Rachel watched me and gave me a dismayed look when she saw the pre-rolled joints I pulled out from a small altoids tin box.

"I've never tried it." Rachel said staring at the lighter while I lit up. I took a deep drag feeling the fire burn in my lungs. I kept my eyes closed even as I exhaled straight up into the air. I sat down on the bed crossing my legs Indian style right in front of Rachel. "How does it feel?" Rachel asked. I opened up my eyes and saw that she had leaned in a little closer to me.

"You can try." I offered but she sat back against my headboard shaking her head. "It heightens the senses…here." I scooted up closer to her. "Touch my hand." She didn't move but I still continued to take another drag. "Go ahead I won't bite." She reached out her hand slowly and pressed her pointer finger to the center of my right hand. I stared down at my hand and she began to run her finger down to my wrist. My breath hitched and she pulled back quickly when she looked up into my eyes.

"How did that feel?" She whispered touches my cheek with the back of her hand.

"I can't describe it…it's like this sensation that makes everything so real." I told her. I put out the joint because I didn't want to get so high that I scared Rachel. She didn't look afraid just very interested. I put the stash back in my nightstand. "Can I sleep here tonight?" I asked her.

"Isn't the bed a little small?" She asked blushing.

"We'll make room and I swear no funny business." She smiled and got under the covers. I did the same while simutaniously removing my jeans and tossing them on the floor. "Goodnight." I told her. I slowly moved my arm over her waist and she didn't protest to cuddling which make me smile into the crook of her neck.

"Goodnight Santana."


	14. Chapter 14

**This chapter is sort of about how Santana is getting fed up with Quinn. Once again Pezberry = Endgame. Enjoy.**

When I woke up Rachel was literally on top of me. I had my arms around my body and my right leg was between her thighs. I could feel her warm breath on my chest as she breathed in and out. I wanted to move away but her arms were locked around my back and there was no moving unless I wanted to wake her up, which I didn't.

Jeez Rachel had such a cute tiny body. She fit perfectly in my arms and I didn't really want to let her go. My head hurt just a little from last night, but I remembered everything pretty clearly. I remember kissing Rachel, and I knew I wanted to do it again. Her lips were nothing like Quinn's were, I wondered if Rachel was mixed with something, because white girls usually didn't have lips like that.

I tried readjusting my leg just slightly but when I did, I felt the warmth of Rachel's inner thigh and a soft moan come from Rachel's lips. Okay so that was hot. Really hot, which was why I had to wake Rachel up. It wasn't right to appreciate Rachel like this when she was asleep.

"Rachel." I said lifting my body up slightly. Rachel looked up at me with a weak smile.

"Santana I-…oh gosh!" Rachel suddenly jumped up out from under the covers and to the other side of the bed. I began to laugh at her with pure amusement. "I'm sorry." She said bashfully standing there with beet red cheeks.

"It's okay you didn't do anything. Rachel we didn't do anything. It was just cuddling chill out." She was acting like we'd had sex or something. "Come on it's like nine in the morning…don't you want to sleep just a little more?" Rachel nodded but didn't move. I shrugged and leaned back on my fluffy pillow supporting my head with my hands. Rachel soon followed suit and got back under the covers.

"Sorry I freaked." Rachel said once I had partially dozed off. I wanted to tell her that I was hurt that she was so freaked out by me now, but I didn't. I just pretended I was asleep, I figured that things would be better off if we just ignored some things.

"I don't believe this!" I looked up from where my head was slightly under the covers. Rachel and I were further apart than we were before but I was still spooning her from behind. Quinn was standing in my doorway with one hand on her hip and the other over her eyes. "You're shitting me right now Lopez." I rolled my eyes and pulled the covers back over my face. Two things pissed me off right now. One, the fact that my idiot brother let Quinn in. Two, Quinn was never going to let this go.

"It's not what it looks like." I told her from under the covers. I could feel Rachel moving around and finally she turned her body so that she was facing me under the covers. We looked into one another's eyes for a second, and my breathing sped up. Jesus those eyes of hers always got to me, and the face that we were in my bed did not help things. "Quinn's here." I told her and she nodded. She gave me a huge grin before she lifted the covers off the both of us and got up to get changed in the bathroom.

I let out a loud sigh as Quinn watched Rachel exit my room and head down the hallway. Quinn's gaze returned to me but she looked so suspicious that I almost wanted to go back under the covers. "Rich…real fucking rich." Quinn said cracking a smile. "We were all wondering where you went…I for one did not think you were here fucking her senseless." I choked out a laugh before throwing my pillow at Quinn.

"We weren't…she got tired at Puck's so I offered to take her home." I knew I couldn't lie to Quinn just as well as she knew I couldn't lie to her.

"What really happened?" Quinn asked cocking an eyebrow. I thought about attempting to lie again, but Quinn was going to find out eventually anyway. I sat up and leaned my head back against my headboard. Quinn began tapping her foot eagerly against the floor, waiting for me to respond.

"I kissed her." I said face-palming as Quinn began laughing hysterically. "It's not funny Quinn." I said throwing the covers off of me and rushing over to her. I grabbed her wrist and pulled her closer towards me so that I could close my bedroom door behind her. I let go of her, sat down on the edge of my bed, pants-less, and frustrated.

"Oh come on, it's funny…damn funny actually." Quinn said before walking over and taking a seat next to me.

"No…she didn't want it. She doesn't like me like that, I should've have done that." Quinn nodded in understanding but then a smile spread across her lips. "What?"

"Nothing…it's just…you're not a bad first kiss." Quinn replied.

"Oh please-."

"Seriously, you know I wouldn't lie about that. You were my first." Quinn said in that husky tone of hers. I looked into her deep hazel eyes before I dipped my head down and captured her lips with mine. Quinn kissed back harshly. I forgot how much I had missed her aggressiveness and the way she liked to let her tongue dominate. I grabbed the front of her shirt and pulled her on top of me. I wrapped my arms around her lips as I trailed my kissed further down Quinn's neck. I bit down on her neck just as I squeezed her ass and her groan gave me all my confidence back.

"I'm not a bottom." I told her before I roughly rolled Quinn over. I pinned her hands above her head and watched as she licked her lips thirsting for more. Her eyes were full blown in lust and I kissed her one more time gently on the lips before sucking on her neck roughly. I pulled off of Quinn just as I heard Rachel come out of the bathroom. I jumped up and opened the door so Rachel wouldn't think that Quinn and I were doing anything.

"Santana are you going to get dressed?" Rachel asked. I immediately felt guilty for what I'd just done with Quinn. The way Rachel looked at me, the way her smile brightened the whole room, it was all something I really liked.

"Yeah." I said asked Rachel walked over and sat on the bed next to Quinn. I walked over to my closet and pulled on some jeans. I ruffled through my dresser searching for a decent and clean shirt and I found one after about five minutes. I turned my body away from Quinn and Rachel and took off the shirt that I'd slept in. I immediately heard catcalls coming from Quinn and I flushed red.

"Damn Tana, you look so sexy." I refused to look at Quinn right now; I knew she was doing this just for show. I pulled on the shirt and reached for a comb for my hair. "Come on Rachel, tell Santana how hot she looks." I whipped my body around and glared at Quinn.

"Stop, you're making her uncomfortable." I told Quinn. I could see Rachel blushing and looking down at my bed. I finished combing my hair and putting on my shoes, and I was waiting for Quinn to make a move. She was the one that came over here in the first place, right?

"I was thinking we could just go over my place, my mom got Britt some karaoke game and she wants to sing with Rachel." I nodded and Rachel grinned, that sounded like fun. Just as we were about to leave Quinn shoved me back against my wall which caused Rachel to turn and look at us. "We could do whatever you want over at my place. I'll let you touch me wherever you want." Quinn whispered in my ear as Quinn ran her hand up my shirt. I pushed her back lightly and looked at her like she was crazy.

"What's gotten into you?" I snapped at her. I could see out of the corner of my eye that Rachel looked worried, hurt, confused…maybe all three. Damn Quinn for always trying to toy with people's emotions. I can't believe my best friend was trying to ruin things for me.


	15. Chapter 15

**Alright so this is sort of a filler sort of chapter. The next one is going to have some action in it, with Puck, Sam, and Blaine present as well. Enjoy this one though.**

"Wow you're really checking her out." I jumped when I heard Quinn's voice. I had been watching Rachel sing for the better part of an hour and I can safely say that it wasn't getting boring at all. Brittany and her were now singing a duet and even though it was just a silly video game Rachel's voice always sounded perfect. I was leaning back on the couch occasionally putting a few pieces of popcorn in my mouth while Quinn had her legs over mine and sometimes had me toss her a few pieces of popcorn in her mouth.

"Fuck off Quinn." I muttered still keeping my eyes on Rachel. I couldn't get over the way she looked in my old clothes. She was singing a song by some weird Barbra something-or-another lady but she sounded so darn amazing. "Encore! Encore!" I shouted after Rachel belted out the last note. "You're so amazing." I told Rachel when she leaned down to grab a handle of popcorn. She blushed but tried to hide it failing miserably. "Really, I could listen to you sing all day."

"Thank you!" Rachel said showing me one of her million dollar smiles. Rachel and Brittany went back to singing which of course left Quinn to bother me.

"Come on Lopez, my room…" Quinn said tugging at my arm.

"No, I'm watching them sing." I told Quinn. She sighed loudly and stole the popcorn off my lap. My gaze shifted down to Rachel's backside. I wonder if she works out, I mean her ass is pretty amazing I'll have to admit.

"Dude you're just checking out her ass!" Quinn scuffed a little louder than I had hoped for. Rachel turned and sang part of the song lyrics while looking directly at me. "You guys really didn't do anything last night?" I shook my head no. "I can't believe you wouldn't try, I mean you look so horny right now." I rolled my eyes and stole the popcorn back.

"Shit I need to escape this right now…I'll be back." I got up and brushed my hair out of my face before walking towards Quinn's door.

"Where are you going?" Rachel asked. I didn't realize that she had paused the game and everyone was staring at me till then.

"Just to grab something." I lied through my teeth. "I'll be right back." I assured them. I left Quinn's apartment and bolted to my room to go get my stash. I needed to get high right now otherwise I was going to either sleep with Quinn or make a total ass out of myself with Rachel. I took a seat on the floor with my back up against the side of my bed. I didn't bother closing the door. Emilio was gone and my mom was out at work.

I grabbed a newly rolled joint from my stash and lit up. As soon as I inhaled in I heard the creaking of the floorboards. I barley had time to turn around before Rachel was plopped down on the ground next to me. "Why are you doing this?" Rachel asked solemnly looking ahead. I took another long drag and exhaled before I answered her.

"Because of Quinn…because of you too I guess." Rachel stopped me from taking another drag. "What are you-."

"Tell me how it feels." She said focusing her eyes on mine. I looked at her and hated myself for kissing her yesterday. Her eyes were the purest I'd ever seen she didn't need to be corrupted.

"But I already told you-."

"Then show me." I didn't understand what she meant. Where was this coming from? I got up on my knees and positioned myself between Rachel's legs. Her look of confidence faded from her face, but she didn't break eye contact with me.

"Ever heard of shotgunning?" I asked her and she shook her head no. "Are you afraid of me?" She shook her head again. "Okay…close your eyes." She hesitated before she finally closed them. I wondered if that was because she finally trusted me, or she was throwing caution to the wind. I put my right hand gently on her cheek, just resting it there. I took a hit and leaned in so that my mouth was only inches from Rachel's. I pressed my lips against hers exhaling in her mouth. I could feel her body relax, I could feel her hand shoot up and grip mine as the smoke filled her lungs. She opened her eyes at the same time that I did and I disconnected our lips.

I felt a horrible sensation after the kiss, the loss of contact was unbearable. When I kissed her I felt a spark. It was amazing the way her lips were so perfect and gentle, and I wanted to kiss her again so badly, but I didn't. I pulled my hand from her face and took another drag before I said anything stupid.

"I don't know what to feel." Rachel said looking up at my ceiling.

"Don't think about it." I told her.

"Why did you want to get away from me?" Rachel asked. I was still on my knees in-between her legs. What would she do if I pulled her body closer to mine and kissed her?

"Because I feel something with you…it's hard to stop feeling things like this." I explained honestly.

"Is that why you want to kiss me right now?" She asked sheepishly looking up through her thick eyelashes.

"Yes."

"But you aren't going to?" She asked. I lean over and put out the blunt in my makeshift ashtray. I placed my hands gently on Rachel's hips letting my eyes roam over her toned abdomen and beautiful neckline. Without warning, I pulled her closer to me and leaned down so that our lips were only centimeters apart. We both had our eyes open, breathing heavily and wondering if either one of us would lean in any closer.

"Do you want this?" I whispered in a low voice keeping my eyes connected with hers.

"I don't know what I want anymore." Her eyes faulted and went to my lips before they returned to where they were. I brushed my lips against hers and then pulled back.

"Sorry." I said after awhile of comfortable silence.

"For what?" She asked pressing her finger to her lips.

"For giving you what you wanted."


	16. Chapter 16

**This chapter was kind of fun to write, it's not fluffy but that'll come later hopefully. Enjoy.**

I found his body in the alley next to _Romeo's Barber Shop_. I honestly didn't see him at first. I was going to grab a soda to give to Brittany to keep her energy up. I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw his small dress shoes peeking out from behind the dumpster. I bolted to the body I fell to my knees when I realized who it was. Blaine.

I knew he was dead. He was facedown, and I thought that for once he wasn't menacing me with those thick eyebrows of his. I pushed his body over and when a small muffled plea came from his mouth I picked him up and lifted him onto my shoulder. He was alive, and he needed to get help.

I thought for half a second about stopping and calling the police, but then I remembered how that could end up. I continued running as fast as I could with Blaine still laying limp over my shoulder. I didn't think I could make it up the stairs but when I heard Blaine trying to speak I bolted up those steps and slammed the bottom of my shoe into Quinn's door trying to get her to open up.

"Quinn! Hurry open up!" I yelled. The door flew open and I pushed past whoever opened it and rushed Blaine over to the couch. "Do you have any towels, I need to clean off all this blood." I said as I placed Blaine down gently on the couch.

"Wh-what happened?" Rachel questioned as she looked up at me from the kitchen. Quinn was already grabbing towels and bandages while Brittany just starred blankly.

"I dunno." I responded to Rachel. "Blaine, say something kid." He finally opened his eyes and looked up at me. As I began wiping the blood from his face and head he started mumbling something. "What? What are you saying?" I asked.

"I said I'm fine." He lifted his head up and took the towel from me. He gave me a quick smile even though I could see that he was in pain. He was trying to stay strong for some stupid reason I was apparently unaware of.

"Who did this?" I asked him looking up at Quinn for back up. She put a bandage over Blaine's right eye and sat down on the edge of the couch watching him. "Britt, can you call Puck? Tell him to come over." Brittany nodded and went to her room to find her phone. Rachel walked over and began helping Blaine with his wounds even against his protesting.

"San, you don't think-."

"No, why would I?" I didn't need to hear Quinn finish her sentence to know what she was going to say. She was talking about the West End Gang. "They wouldn't dare." I said mostly trying to convince myself. I looked down at Blaine who was smiling at something Rachel had said.

"You're not going to do anything stupid are you?" Quinn said barley above a whisper. I looked down at Blaine's battered face.

"They didn't do this." I heard knocking at the door and I rushed over to answer it. Sam and Puck were standing there both with worried expressions. Puck was wearing his leather jacket and Sam had a toothpick in that big ass mouth of his.

"What's going on?" Puck said holding my face in his hands. "I thought something happened to you." Sam walked past us both and rushed over to Blaine's side along with Rachel. "Shit Tana say something."

"Blaine got jumped…he hasn't said who it was, do you think-."

"No, I mean look at Blaine. He's…he's a fag Tana-." I grabbed Puck around his shirt collar and slammed his back against Quinn's wall. I went to throw a punch but missed by an inch and crashed my fist into the wall behind him. Before I could try and knock him senseless Sam grabbed me from around the waist and lifted me up off the ground, successfully pulling me away from him.

"You wanna call somebody something? Say that shit to me, and see what the fuck happens to you Puck!" Sam finally let go of me when I calmed down, but I wasn't about to let Puck off that easily. "Dude come on, show me you're better than all those other fuck ups in this town."

"Blaine please tell us who did this to you." Rachel pleaded.

I crossed my arms over my chest and waited for him to answer. "That's it! You don't have to say it, we fucking know. It was the West End Gang, those assholes are done." I nudged Puck and eyed Quinn. It was time to go, now.

"San, we can't." Quinn said holding back.

"And who's gonna stop us? You guys know what will happen if we don't go after them." I explained to them.

"And you know what will happen when we do!" Sam snapped.

"Fuck that! I don't care if they wanted a war they've got one."

"You shouldn't be here." I told Rachel as I leaned back in the car seat. Rachel looked over at me and shook her head. "I told you to stay back with Brittany…don't you see I'm trying to protect you." Puck turned around in his seat and eyed me curiously. I had gone soft, I'd completely lost my tough exterior and it was all because of Rachel.

"What are we gonna do when we see those guys?" Sam asked.

"What do you think you idiot." I snapped at Sam for no reason. I guess it was because of Rachel. I was so angry with her for not listening to me. Who did she think she was? Coming with us like this. I caught a glimpse of movement out of the corner of my eye. I looked out the window and saw three boys wearing the West Ender's signature blue shirts.

"What is this about Santana?" Puck questioned as his grip tightened on the steering wheel.

"Blaine-." He cut me off.

"Is it really? Is this about Blaine or Marcia?" I threw the door open and rushed outside without warning. I knew that if Quinn, Sam and Puck didn't follow then I'd be screwed, but I also trusted them enough to know that they would.

"Hey!" I tackled the tallest boy to the ground. He didn't get much of a warning, and I was already throwing punches with my right hand before I was grabbed and thrown to the ground. I looked up just in time to avoid a punch and to watch Quinn elbow one of the boys across his face. Puck was pounding one of the guys faces in, and I had regained the upper hand on the tall boy. I slugged him across the face at least ten times before I saw that he wasn't fighting back anymore but I didn't stop then. I wanted these guys to pay, someone was going to pay.

"Santana…shit Tana, he's done…" Sam said grabbing my arm. As he turned around Sam was tossed to the ground by one of the West Enders. That's when I pulled my switchblade and pressed it to the boy's neck. "You pick a hell of a day to die." I told him in a menacing voice. He held his hands up in defense; he was the only one of the West Enders that was still standing. "Are you one of El Diablo's guys?" I asked. He looked to his friends for support, but one was unconscious and the other was pinned down under Puck. "Tell him to go fuck himself…make sure to give him my name." I slammed my fist into his jaw so hard that my hand felt like it was on fire. He hit the ground with a loud thud and I starred at the two guys that I'd taken out. Something felt insane about what I'd just done, but it felt good.

This wasn't about revenge, it was about honor. Lima Heights Adjacent used to be a place where we cared about things like that. The way Quinn was glaring at me made me think that maybe things had changed.

"I thought you were going to kill that boy out there." Rachel said as she wiped the blood from a scratch on my collarbone. I liked when she cared for me, just having her there made the alcohol burn less.

"And if I had?" I asked her curious as to how far I would have to go to show her that I was a monster.

"Hm." She hummed in response, like it was a real answer. "You've very strong, I've never seen a girl as physical as you." I barley had time to blush at that because I was too focused on Rachel's lips again.

"Rachel?" I said. She finished cleaning my wound and looked up at me finally.

"Yes." I pressed my lips to hers and wrapped my arms around her waist. Within seconds I was on top of her, running kisses down to her pulse point and sucking on her neck hard. She whimpered and moaned and yelped when I bit her, but I didn't stop. I didn't know how much I wanted to feel her toned abs or her firm ass until now. I wanted to take off every last layer of clothing on her body. I wanted to bit down harder on her neck, I needed to hear her scream again. I was feeling so possessive, like I wanted to own Rachel. I pulled back and glanced down at Rachel's pink and purple bruises on her neck that were the result of me. I felt disgusted with myself for doing that to her. I was even more worried when I realized that she just let me.


	17. Chapter 17

**This chapter is all Pezberry, enjoy.**

Rachel insisted that I come over her house. I obliged mostly because I wanted to get the hell out of Heights for a little bit. I knew that the Royals were going to come after me, and I was ready for the backlash, I just didn't want this to go down now. Also, I wanted to talk to Rachel about the kiss last night. I mean was she okay with it? I know I wasn't. She should've pushed me off of her and told me to go fuck myself and stop treating her like I owned her.

"Is your dad home?" I asked when we pulled into her driveway and their was a Hybrid parked out front.

"No my dads are out having dinner." I didn't know if she meant that she had two dads, but she didn't look like she wanted to explain more. I decided that she told me this because she wanted to see how I would react to gay parents. It seemed to me like she wanted me to think that being gay was okay. I got the hint, and I was in agreement with her.

"Jesus this house is huge." I said looking around at the leather couches in Rachel's house. Her kitchen even had one of those islands in the middle. I'd never really been in a place like this. Rachel giggled and shrugged before she invited me into her kitchen. I sat down on a stool around the island and watched as Rachel began searching through her cupboards. "What are you doing? You don't need to make me anything." I assured her.

"Well maybe I'm hungry myself." She said playfully before grabbing some eggs, bacon, and toast. Yum, I hadn't had a breakfast like that in years. Rachel began cooking the eggs with her backside facing me. "You're drooling." I gulped loudly and diverted my gaze. What exactly did she mean by that? "Are you hungry? I can make you something." She offered.

"No I'm cool." Despite my rejection of the meal, Rachel made enough for two and she even gave me an extra slice of bacon. I dug into the meal like it was my last, and savored every last bite. God I would love to have Rachel cook every one of my meals. "Damn…this tastes so fucking good." I told her and she smirked before chewing her bacon slowly.

"Nice vocabulary you have there." I smiled even though I knew Rachel was making a criticism of my dirty language. "And you said you weren't hungry." I smiled and finished chewing my last bite.

"I lied." I said offering to clean the dishes but Rachel said that I could relax. "So are we going to talk about what happened last night?" I asked her.

"We did, you beat up those boys because of Blaine. And although I don't agree with the violence of the actions, I find revenge in the case of someone you really care about rather noble." Rachel cleaned the dishes and put them on the up. Rachel told me to come upstairs with her and I did, but something was churning in my stomach. "What sort of music do you like?" She asked me as she fumbled through her CD collection. "I've got everything." She said holding up one of Eminem's recent albums.

"You got any Queen?" I asked when I lay down on her bed without asking her if I could. Her bed was twice the size of mine and I noticed a small unicorn stuffed animal placed on one of her pillows. Rachel popped in a Queen CD and _Under Pressure _began playing. She took a seat on the bed next to me as she held on to her unicorn and sang the lyrics softly. "This thing is kinda weird." I said snatching the unicorn from Rachel's grips.

"Hey!" She said trying to reach for the unicorn. I put the stuffed animal in my left hand and held it far out of her reach. She tried to reach across my body but she ended up straddling my hips. When we both realized what was happening our eyes connected. "Oh…sorry…" Rachel was about to roll off my body I used my right hand to grab the fabric of her shirt gently so she couldn't move.

"Wait…we have to talk about the kiss yesterday." I told her speaking quietly.

"Why?" She said pulling her hand back from my wrist and sitting up further. She starred down at me and her eyes darkened.

"Well how did you feel about it?" I asked her.

"I…I don't know." I could feel her pulling away but I placed my hands gently on her waist to steady her.

"No you do know, I shouldn't have done that. It wasn't right, the way I touched you…I don't understand why you let me." I touched my hand gently to her neck grazing her purple bruises. "You weren't ready the first time I kissed you and you weren't ready yesterday."

"I let you touch me because I knew you wanted to relieve your stress. I didn't mind that you were so aggressive." She said pushing her hair back behind her ears sheepishly.

"You could've said no." I told her. She shrugged and I tugged on her shirt so that her lips were only inches away from mine. "Say no." I told her. Her eyes were still focused on mine and she didn't open her mouth. I pulled her closer so that she was essentially lying right on top of me. "Say no." I told her again before I brushed my lips against hers.

"I want this." She leaned down and pressed her lips firmly against mine. I still had my hand on her shirt but down I slipped my right hand under her shirt. I wanted to roll over so that I was on top but I didn't. I let her control things the way she wanted to. I slipped my tongue into her mouth loving the sweet taste of her lips and neck. God she was so sexy when she was trying to dominate me. Rachel grabbed both of my wrist and pressed my arms down above my head. Her lips went down my neck and she bit down gently on my earlobe.

"Fuck…" I moaned out when she pressed my arms down harder and began sucking on my pressure point. "You want to be in control?" I asked her as I began moving my thigh between her legs. I could feel the hot wetness from her center as grinded into her harder.

"I am in control." She said with a cocky smirk. I wasn't taking that. Within seconds I had her on her back and I had my hand between her legs. Thank god, she was wearing a skirt and thin panties. My left hand gripped her upper thigh and I sucked on her bottom lip.

"Don't fool yourself." I said. My pointer finger grazed her wet folds over her panties which elicited a moan from her lips. I pulled down her panties in one swift action and tossed them on the floor. I rubbed my thumb over her clit and sucked on her pulse point as she moaned loudly. "I want you to scream my name." I whispered in her ear. I continued rubbing her clit with my thumb and held my middle finger over her entrance slowly massaging her folds back and forth.

"Do it." She told me and I pressed my middle finger down against her entrance. I was a second away from entering her when we both heard a knock on her bedroom door. I jumped off her and Rachel pulled her skirt down to its normal position. Rachel's father walked into the room and as soon as he saw me his eyebrows furrowed.

"Rachel who is this?" He asked focusing his attention on his daughter. My eyes roamed to Rachel's panties, which were laid out in plain view on Rachel's comfy chair. Luckily Rachel's father was too focused on Rachel than to notice her panties or the aroma of arousal coming off both Rachel and I.

"This is Santana." Rachel said cheerfully.

"Hi Mr. Berry-." I stood and reached out my hand for him to shake which he did and a huge smile formed on his face.

"So this is the famous Santana my Rachel has been spending all her time with." He said eyeing me. I glanced over at Rachel who was busy trying to fix her hair. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you."

"You too sir." I said before I returned to my seat on Rachel's bed.

"Are you staying the night?" Rachel and I exchanged stiff glances. "I guess I'll leave you two to discuss that." Mr. Berry smirked before leaving the room. He made a big show out of leaving the door open before he went downstairs.

"You should stay." Rachel said.

"After what happened? I don't think that's a good idea. I'm gonna crash at Puck's for a few days, just to see how the Royals are going to retaliate." I explained to her. "Um…one more thing." I leaned in and kissed Rachel sweetly on the cheek. "I just want you to know that I'm not using you, I like you a lot…this means something to me. You mean something to me."


	18. Chapter 18

**So this story is moving along faster than _My Superhero_, but I hope you guys still like it. The showdown is coming up next but this chapter explains what happened to Marcia and Brittany. Enjoy. **

"So you've basically just been hiding out for like three weeks." Quinn said as she handed me a glass of water. She was right; I had sort of been hiding out at Pucks. I would sleep at his house and then head over to Lima with Rachel for the day. Rachel insisted that I spend as much time away from Heights as I could. It was cute that she was trying to protect me; it actually made me feel safe.

"Basically." I said taking the cup and downing it in seconds. "Puck's folks are never home so they don't care. Rachel and have been chillin a lot lately too, which is fun." A smirk spread across Quinn's face.

"How far do you get with her?" She asked.

"Like hell I'm going to tell you." I said rolling my eyes at the curious blond.

"Look I backed off with you. Even though I still catch you checking me out all the time, the least you could do is entertain me with the dirty details of your relationship." Quinn demanded. God she was such a pest. Ever since I told her the friend with benefits thing was off, she'd been hounding me about Rachel.

"Fine…a few weeks ago we almost…well you know, but we didn't." I told her as I sank lower into Quinn's couch. Quinn chuckled and nudged me so I would get up. "She's been really sweet too, about everything. She knows that I'm keeping a lot from her, but unlike someone I know…she isn't asking about it." I eyed Quinn pointedly hoping that she got my reference.

"But you have to tell her about Marcia…right. I mean you're going to?" I looked down at my hands desperately trying to forget that day.

"It shouldn't have happened." Quinn gripped my hand but I pushed her away and stood up.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Quinn and I were never this fluffy. We didn't talk about emotions or anything like that except when it came to Brittany or Marcia. Marcia was my sister. I say was because El Diablo and the Royals killed her two years ago. It was a drive by. My brother was taking us to go get ice cream and that's when the shooting started. "San." Quinn said interrupting my thoughts.

"Is Rachel coming over?" Brittany questioned as she walked into the room with a huge grin on her face.

"Um yeah she's picking up Puck and they're both coming over." I told Britt. She came over and took a seat on my lap gaining an eye roll from Quinn. "Britt…" I tried to scoot over so that she wasn't on my lap but she wrapped her arms around my neck.

"Where have you been Sanni? I missed you." Brittany gave me a quick peck on the lips before she looked over at her sister. "Quinn's said that she is really horny and wishes you two could just fuck." Quinn covered her face with her hands and my face turned beet red.

"Jesus Britt-." Quinn was cut off when we heard loud knocking at the door. She got up and answered the door bringing Rachel and Puck inside. Rachel raised an eyebrow when she saw Brittany on my lap. I slid out from under her and went over to Rachel.

"Hey." I said grinning before I dipped my head and kissing her gently on the cheek.

"Hi." Rachel said when our lips parted.

"Get a room." Quinn muttered.

"No keep going please." Puck said waving his eyebrows. I rolled my eyes but still keep my arm around Rachel's waist. I loved having her in my arms, and I could tell by the way her eyes lit up every time I touched her that she loved it too.

"Puck you pig." I said slapping him on the back of his head. "Anyway what do you guys want to do? I've been hauled up inside for weeks."

"I can think of something we can do." Rachel whispered huskily in my ear. I looked around at everyone looked between Rachel and I. Puck stifled a laugh and Quinn raised an eyebrow. I must have looked like I'd just been smacked on both cheeks. I wanted to take Rachel to Quinn's bedroom and show her everything I wanted to do to her, but I'd never live that down.

"Can we go to the arcade?" Brittany asked after a long period of silence.

"Sure Britt Britt-." A loud knock came from the door and we all turned and stared. "Um…Quinn, did you invite someone else?" Quinn shrugged and Puck went over to answer the door. When Rico and his boys walked through the door the glare I gave Puck could have killed him. "What is he doing here?"

"You don't sound too happy to see me." Rico said with that stupid cocky smirk smeared across his face.

"Puck, why the fuck is he here?" I snapped. I could see Brittany out of the corner of my eye wrapping her arms around her body and shaking. She looked terrified and she had the right to be scared. Rico was the reason for all of her problems. He was the reason she had to take those drugs all the time. Rico raped her awhile ago, he'd hurt her bad. We all knew it was because he was strung out on drugs and didn't know what the hell he was doing, but it didn't change what he did. I told Rico that we could be acquaintances but he could never be around Brittany after that.

"Get the fuck out Rico." I didn't like this one bit. Quinn was going to murder Rico for showing up here. Her hazel eyes had gone dark and she was already standing up just a few feet from Rico ready to pounce.

"Look I'm not here to bother your sis." Rico swore stepping back away from Quinn.

"Rico I'm gonna kill you unless you give me a damn good reason not to." I told him. I held on tightly to Rachel but kept my eyes focused on Rico.

"What were you thinking when you went after El Diablo. Tana it's a _sentencia de muerte_." I looked down at the ground thinking about everything except what he'd just said. "They'll be after you soon, they already are-."

"So what?" I said pulling my arm away from Rachel. "Let those fuckers come after me. This was bound to happen, after Marcia was killed you assholes were supposed to back Heights against them. You didn't do shit. This is the war that we've been waiting for." I explained to him but he continued shaking his head.

"You got a death wish? What about your girl, they'll go after her too." Shit. I looked over at Rachel who seemed calm but I knew she must have felt the same fear that I had. I couldn't let Rachel get hurt, not because of me.

"Fine, then I'll go confront them-."

"You can't do that Pez." Quinn said trying to reach out to me.

"I have to, I can't let them hurt Rachel or any of you guys." I made sure I had my pocketknife in my left pocket for easy access.

"We got your back Lopez, I'm not gonna let you go in alone." Rico said showing me his gun.

"No, no guns." I told him. "Let me just grab something before I go." Everyone watched as I walked towards Quinn's door but no one followed me except Rachel.

"What exactly is your plan?" She questioned as I went down a flight of stairs and scurried into my apartment. As soon as I walked in my brothers booming voice stopped me.

"What do you think you're doing? Getting El Diablo to murder you won't help anyone." He said wheeling himself into my room behind Rachel. "There's talk that the Royals are going to come down here and burn your body Tana. People are saying that maybe they'll brand you." I listened to the threats with little interest. I knew what the Royals were capable of; I didn't need a lesson from my brother.

"You think you can handle this better then why don't you go and _walk_ on down there…oh wait." My brother didn't budge when I made a low attack on his handicap, instead he just watched as I reached for a bracelet on my desk and put it on.

"That's Marcia's." He said quietly.

"It was hers." I said in agreement. "Look Emilio, can you leave Rachel and I alone for a second." He glanced over at Rachel for a second before turning his wheelchair around and exiting my room.

"I have a bad feeling about this." Rachel said when I sat down on the bed.

"It's the only thing I can think of doing." I told her pulling her in so that she was straddling my waist. "I can't hide forever right?" I kissed her on the forehead softly before pulling back to look in her eyes.

"You're an idiot for doing this." Rachel said pecking my sweetly on the lips. "Let me come with you." I know she expected me to protest, or to tell her that she was insane, but I didn't.

"Okay…but that means everyone else comes." I said. "I don't want to see you get hurt."

"I won't."

"I…I think I might…love you." I said closing my eyes because I had no idea what her response would be.

"I think I might love you too." She pressed her lips to mine and I thought about staying like this forever.


	19. Chapter 19

**Here's a quick update I hope you guys like it. **

"I can't believe you invited the ogre too." I mumbled to myself as I crossed my arms over my chest. Rachel smiled and looped her arm around mine. I brushed her hair out of her face and kissed her on the cheek. "Are we almost there?" I said hitting the back of the window leading into the front seat of the truck.

"Chill out Pez, we're going to the West End bridge right?" Puck said from the passenger's seat. I nodded but he didn't look back to see if I did. Sam pulled over at the side of the road and parked his truck. Rachel, Finn, Quinn, and I were sitting in the back while Puck and Sam were in the front of the truck. I looked out towards the road to see if I could see any cars. "What are you doing?" Puck snapped at me as I hopped out of the back of the truck and walked out towards the middle of the road.

"What you think they don't know we're out here? Please…they know." I shielded my eyes from the sun and spotted a Chevrolet rolling up towards us. It was El Diablo; I'd recognize that car in my sleep. The car halted to a stop about fifteen feet from the truck. I crossed my arms over my chest and glared at the car waiting for someone to come out.

El Diablo wasn't the first person to step out of the car. Instead two men who I didn't recognize stepped out, both were wearing sunglasses and wore the signature blue of the Royals. "Come on, get Diablo out here." I said urging them on. "What is he a bitch or something?" I walked over to the car pushing between the two men and banging my fist up against the tinted window. "Come on you fucking asshole." The door flew open and I took a few steps back to make room.

I hadn't seen the man since that fateful day. He was taller than I thought; he wore a dog tag around his neck and a tough looking leather jacket. He had a small scar on his neck, but more importantly he had teardrops tattooed under his eyes. That only meant one thing. One tattoo for every person he's killed. He had three.

"You're one dumb little girl for coming out here." He said with a cocky grin.

"Too bad I'm not afraid." I told him holding my ground. I didn't bother looking back at my friends. I knew if something bad went down they'd protect Rachel and Puck and Quinn would have my back. I made them promise me that before we came out here. "You think you're some big tough guy, show me what you can do." I urged him on. If he was nearly as angry as I was he'd punch me right now, but he just kept calm and glared down at me.

"You're a Lopez, just like you're fucking brother. Wasn't it enough that he got out?" He asked.

"Not when you killed my little sister!" I snapped at him. His face dropped and he took one step back towards the car. "That tattoo, the tear, when did you get it?" I asked him. "Tell me when, tell me when you got that damn thing celebrating the death of my fucking little sister!" I lunged at him but was pulled back away from him by the two men who stood at his sides. I heard Puck and Sam open their car doors and come out.

"I didn't! That was an accident!" I tried to swing at him but my arm was blocked and seconds later, I was tumbling to the ground. "You know I was just trying to scare Rico's boys off, I didn't know-." I pushed forward after him and got one good swing at him. I connected with the punch, but he took the hit but stayed on his feet.

"You murderer! You fucking son of a bitch!" I tried to swing again but El Diablo's boys grabbed my arms and tossed me to the ground. "Do you know how old she was? She was six! We were getting ice cream you know. We were celebrating because Emilio got out of this whole gang business. You killed her on the happiest day of her life…you killed her." I was crying now. I couldn't even focus on what was going on. Everything hurt, I just wanted to fall to the ground again but I knew I couldn't.

It was a stupid move, I knew it was stupid when I didn't but for some reason I couldn't stop myself. I reached into my pocket and whipped out my switchblade as fast as I could. I lunged at El Diablo avoiding both his _guards_ in the process. The knife was so close to his throat all I had to do was move a few inches forward and-.

"Fuck." El Diablo had a gun raised to my temple and I dropped my knife without hesitating. He cocked the gun and I could hear Rachel screaming something in the background and I knew someone was moving closer behind me, but for a few moments everything seemed surreal. El Diablo was going to blow my brains out and I deserved it.

"No one comes onto this turf and threatens me…no one. I know you're a Lopez because your whole family always tries to show us whose boss. You want this to be about honor? You want to start a war? Well hell kid you got it." I could feel the cool metal being pressed harder to my skull. His finger was on the trigger, and all it was going to take was one slight movement and I was a goner.

"Do it." I told him after a long stand still.

"W-what?" He struttered out.

"I said fucking do it, you think you're a man, prove it. If you don't you'll never get respect around here again. "I said do it! Show them you're a man! Show them!"

"Santana!" Rachel pleaded out from the back on the truck. I knew she wanted to run out to save me, but I had a plan and it would only work if I pissed El Diablo off.

"This is the West End light weight…and no one messes with the Royals." I closed my eyes. I felt the gun press further into my temple. This was it. It was now or never.

…**uh oh cliffhanger. **


	20. Chapter 20

**Didn't want to leave you guys with a cliffhanger like that if I wasn't going to show you what happens next soon. The situation is going to be heightened in future chapters, Quinn's about to get involved. Anyway enjoy.**

There was no time to think. I threw my forearm up, connecting hard with El Diablo's hand. We both had a solid grip on the gun until I rammed my knee into his gut and pistol whipped him to the ground. Now I had the gun, and I had the control. Everything went silent. I saw that one of El Diablo's men was in the process of reaching for his gun but he froze. They were scared, scared that I'd just shoot them all right now. And they should've been scared.

"Easy kid." El Diablo said looking up from where he was positioned in between a standing and kneeling posture. The gun was pointed right between his eyes, and I noticed a small bead of sweat fall down his face. "Just calm down, we can all walk away from this-." I chuckled in a mysteriously sinister way. I was holding a gun to his head just like he'd been doing to me just seconds earlier. Just because he tried to apologize for what he did to my sister, it still didn't stop me from seeing those tears tattooed on his face.

"No, we're not walking away from anything." I told him. "Stand up." I demanded and he did. "Not such a tough guy now, huh?"

"San, let's get out of here." Quinn said from behind me. I wanted to look back to make sure Rachel was okay, but I couldn't break eye contact with El Diablo. I needed him to know that I wasn't some kid. I was stronger than he was, and he wasn't going to get away with what he did.

"Lopez, we gotta get out of here." Puck shouted.

"Are you scared?" I asked El Diablo just to see if he was. He starred so hard it was like he was looking right through me. "Killing you would be for the better. No one would miss you."

"They'll take you to prison. You'll stay there forever, and that sweet little girl of yours over there…" He nodded in Rachel's direction. "Her heart will be crushed." I pulled the trigger. I closed my eyes and pulled the trigger as hard as I could. I was expecting a loud _bang_, I was expecting the pathetic excuse of a man to fall down in front of me with half of his face demolished on the pavement. Instead I heard a loud _click_.

When I opened my eyes El Diablo was still standing there. He reached out and took the gun from my trembling hands and put it in the back of his pants. _Not loaded_ he mouthed with a smirk. "Don't take this too kindly, you still have to watch your back but…we'll stay off your turf. Remember that this little game of cat and mouse isn't about honor anymore, whoever has the gun has the power." He snapped his fingers and his men got in the car followed by him.

They sped off back the way they came, leaving me standing there speechless. "San." I spun around and was confronted with a weeping Rachel. I wrapped my arms around her, trying to calm her down, but Quinn and Puck looked angrier than I'd ever seen them. I knew why. I'd pulled the trigger. Sure the gun wasn't loaded, but I pulled the trigger. I was just as bad as El Diablo was, I thought to myself. I might be worse.

"How do you feel?" Rachel asked me while we were bundled up in her bed, arms wrapped around one another and a dim light on in the room.

"Stupid." I said quietly.

"You confronted him, I was terrified but at the same time I was incredibly proud of you." She ran her hand through my hair, and I leaned further into her touch. "You never spoke about Marcia before…I wish I could've met her."

"People used to say that we looked just alike. They said that Marcia was going to grow up and be the sweet version of me." I said laughing a little to myself. "She looked up to Emilio and I, that's why we were both so excited when he got out of the gang. I told her that it takes a strong person to do something like that, I mean I idolized him-."

"You blame him for it. Even after you heard what El Diablo said?" Rachel asked quietly.

"I just don't…when will it all stop?" I knew it was a question that Rachel could never answer. I loved her, I wanted to be with her, but there would still always be that distance between us. She had her escape, she always would.

"You told me that it was just the way things were." Rachel said. "But I don't think that's true. If you stay away from all those bad little things, then everything will be alright." She was right; I mean when was she not? I had to get out of that stupid drug dealing stint I had with Rico and I had to start going to school more when it started up.

"Did you mean it?" I asked her sitting up slightly on the bed.

"Did I mean what?" She questioned pulling me closer to her body.

"Telling me you loved me. Did you mean it?" I asked again."

"Of course I did." She said before placing a gentle kiss on my nose. "You know I used to think you were this tough girl, now I see that you're just a softy. I mean Santana, we're cuddling, and you're the little spoon." I turned around so that I was facing her.

"I'm not a softy." I said pouting. I began nipping at her neck playfully enjoy the giggles and squeals I was receiving. "I can be bad if I want to be." I flirted.

"You can?" Rachel asked with darkened eyes.

I pressed my lips to hers and tugged on her bottom lip with my teeth. "Yes I can." I assured her as my hands went down to her waist.

"Prove it." And I did.


	21. Chapter 21

**This story is coming to an end, I think there is only going to be a few more chapters. Anyway enjoy. Read and Review please.**

"So where's Rachel?" Quinn asked from where she was cuddled up on her bed next to me. I'd slept over her place and surprisingly nothing happened. We just stayed there comfortably just like we used to before things got sexual between us.

"She's at the food bank volunteering." I explained to Quinn who nodded.

"Can we talk about what happened? I mean you do realize it's not going to go away. Rachel may not know exactly what went down, but I do." I propped myself up on my elbows and sighed deeply. "You pulled the trigger San, you were going to kill him."

"Yeah, and? Look I'll admit that I was wrong and that I could've destroyed my whole life in that one second but I didn't. I don't know someone must have been looking out for me." I told her not searching for a reason for anything just hoping that there was.

"Some looking out for you? Someone like who? _God_?" The way she said it sounded so demeaning. She seemed so sure that there wasn't a god. I didn't want to get into this, why did we have to fight right now?

"You seem sure of yourself." I said rolling over so that I was facing away from her.

"Come on San; don't tell me you've gone all Jesus freak on me." Quinn said trying to pull me back closer to her. I didn't budge. This wasn't about what I did or didn't believe in. I'd been hanging around Rachel a lot, maybe too much, but I know that she believed in something and I believed in her. Wasn't that enough? Couldn't it just be that I loved her enough to suddenly start believing in life, and enjoying it? "What changed with you?"

"Does it matter? You know I've changed because of Rachel, so what?" Why did she care so much about this? "Is Britt okay?" I asked mainly because I really cared about Brittany and wanted to make sure she would be okay, but partially because I needed to fill the silence.

"You mean about Rico?" She asked quirking an eyebrow.

"I mean is she still in her room? She hasn't even said hi to me yet." I said disappointed.

"Britt!" Quinn yelled pausing for a response. I heard a door creak open and then Quinn's door being pushed open. "Come here." Quinn said to her sister. Brittany walked timidly towards us and then took a seat on the foot of Quinn's bed. "I'm gonna grab something to eat at the drug store, you guys want anything?" Quinn questioned as she stood up and put on some fitted jeans and a loose fitting t-shirt. Brittany asked for some _Starburst _ and I neglected the offer. "Alright I'll be back then." Quinn left her room and I waited until I heard the slam on her apartment door to turn to look at Brittany.

"Did I do something wrong?" I asked her quietly. She wasn't looking at me, she wasn't even smiling.

"No." She said shortly.

"No I did, it's because I brought Rico over-." She stood up suddenly and turned away from me. The muscles on her back were tense and her fists were turning white. "He shouldn't have hurt you like that. When I caught him touching you I should've killed him."

"Violence is wrong…but…" She turned towards me with tear-streaked cheeks. "I wanna hurt him."

"What's stopping you?" I asked her. I never realized how similar our situations were. To Brittany, Rico was the foulest cruelest person she knew, and I had El Diablo for the vain of my existence. I grabbed Brittany's hand and pulled her down so that she was seated next to me on the bed. "You know Brittany; I don't know what Quinn tells you about taking those pills-."

"She says I need them so I won't feel sad…but they make me feel weird on the inside. Like I'm watching everything go by." She said calmly.

"They make you act differently, that's what I hate about them. You're the most innocent and amazing girl I know. What Rico did to you was horrible, but I know you're strong enough to survive after that. You can do this Brittany, and I want you to promise me that you won't take those pills anymore." She thought it over for a moment and then she linked our pinkies.

"Promise…on one condition." I smiled at the blonde, wondering what she had up her sleeve.

"What's the catch?" I asked.

"I get to hang out with Rachel, Puck, Quinn and you when you guys go out. I don't like being home alone, I worry about you all too much." Could she be any more adorable? I hugged the girl and told her that she had my permission to tag along with us anywhere we went.

Brittany went back to her room to change into something other than a one-sy with ducks on it. I reached into my pocket for my phone.

[to Rachel]: **hey what are you up to?**

[from Rachel]: **I'm just about to finish up doing some inventory. Are you still at Quinn's? I can come pick you up from there.**

I smiled at how similar her texts read to the way she spoke. I mean who actually used proper punctuation and everything when they text? I checked my phone and it was about six-thirty in the afternoon.

[to Rachel]: **uh you wanna take Britt and Quinn to your place too? They wanna chill with us**

[from Rachel]: **I was under the impression that you wanted alone time ;) **

[to Rachel]: **I do…but Britt's had it rough, I owe her. **

[from Rachel]: **No objections here, it sounds fun. You invite your friends over I'll invite some of mine, we'll make it a party. My dads are out of town.**

I smiled to myself. This really would have been a good time to be alone with Rachel if her fathers were out of town. At least this could be an excuse for some of my friends to see the other side of the tracks for a change.

[to Rachel]: **alright I'll get a group together. We'll meet you at your place, be sure to wear that sexy school girl skirt of yours :)**

[from Rachel]: **if you're lucky you'll be taking it off too xoxo**

I couldn't help but smirk. Damn Rachel could be the biggest tease sometimes. "What are you all smiley about Tana?" Quinn said as she snatched my phone out of my hands and scanned the screen. I can't believe I didn't hear her come home. "Oh sexting at it's finest. Didn't think she'd be up for it." Quinn said laughing.

"Yeah whatever." I said taking my phone back. "Hard not to be into me right?" Quinn rolled her eyes and tossed me a soda even though I didn't ask for one. "We're all gonna party at Rachel's tonight, so get dressed."

"She's okay with having a group like _us_ over there?" Quinn asked as she stripped down to her bra and panties in full view.

"Yeah she loves me which means she loves you guys. This is gonna be fun, trust me." I assured her.


	22. Chapter 22

**Okay so this is the last chapter. I can't help it I just ran out of fuel for this story. It's not as long as my other one, but still I hope the conclusion is nice and sweet and fluffy. I hope you guys enjoyed it. **

"My friend Kurt is coming, I think you might find him particularly compelling." I laughed to myself when I saw the small blush on Blaine's face. Rachel smirked and giving him a knowing glance before she went up to change the song on her sound system.

"Where's Puck? If I don't get some booze in my I might pass out." I rolled my eyes at Quinn. I had already told her that Rachel was not going to allow booze in her house, especially not with gross boys being here. That's why I didn't want to invite Finn, I still had it out for him.

"Don't mention that to Rachel." I warned Quinn. This was a relatively small party, I mean compared to what usually went down at Puck's. Blaine, Finn, Quinn, Brittany, Sam, Rachel, and I were here now but others were coming.

"Oh look San it's a teddy bear!" Brittany exclaimed as she jumped up off the couch and ran over to a shelf in Rachel's basement and grabbing a worn down teddy bear. I smiled at the blonde and then turned my attention to Quinn.

"Did Britt talk to you?" I asked Quinn. Quinn didn't look at me, instead she kept her eyes on Brittany. She shrugged but I knew there was much more to this. She was afraid of talking, but I didn't know why. I looked up just in time to see a whole crowd of people coming downstairs.

"She told me about the pills, she's done with them." Quinn whispered before she stood up and walked over so she could be introduced.

"…and that's Santana over there." Rachel said to an Asian girl and a larger black girl. I stood up and hurried over by Rachel. I had to make a good impression, I mean by now all my friends loved Rachel; I hoped I could get the same reception.

"Hi Santana I'm Tina." The Asian was dressed pretty gothic but she smiled brightly enough to heed off any other judgments.

"And I'm Mercedes." The black girl said doing a full body scan of me. I shifted uncomfortably in my run down sneakers but plastered on a fake smile anyway.

"Nice to meet you guys." I lied. I recognized Kurt from before but he came down the steps with an Irish looking boy and a girl with brown hair and a huge bubbly smile.

"That's Damien and Sugar with Kurt." Rachel explained careful not to point because she always said that was rude.

"Oh my god Sanni!" Brittany said wrapping her arms around my waist from behind. Rachel raised a skeptical eyebrow and I gently pulled Brittany's arms from around me.

"Yeah, that girl over there!" I glanced over at Sugar and shrugged wondering what Brittany was getting at. "Don't you see?" I shook my head no. "It looks like she's our baby." Rachel stifled a laugh but Mercedes broke out into a fit.

"Wow Santana you sure do get around. Getting girls pregnant and everything." Rachel joked just as Puck walked over to join us.

"Hey, you wanna dance?" Puck said smiling at Mercedes. She chanced a glance at both Tina and Rachel before accepting the offer. The doorbell rang and Rachel looked straight up at the ceiling.

"Um, let me go get that." Rachel said. She went to walk away but I pulled her back so that our bodies were pressed against one another lightly. "San-." I cut her off with a quick kiss on the lips, and she gave me one of her a million dollar smiles. "I'll be back." I couldn't help but notice the way she swayed her hips as she was walking away, she knew I was watching.

"Blaine!" The black haired dork came sashaying his way over to me. I smiled because he seemed to be feeling much better since the day he got beat up. "See anything you like?" I practically directed arrows towards Kurt and smirked.

"He's cute." Blaine said coyly.

"Go for it-."

"You were the one telling me to hide my gay just a few weeks ago." Blaine reminded me.

"Well things have changed. I'm thinking of getting out of Heights at some point in my life…and even if I don't, at least I have Rachel." Blaine threw his hand over his heart and fake-sobbed much to my displeasure. "Oh okay I see how things are." I nudged him and walked over to Brittany who was trying to lick her elbow.

"Hey, San, wanna dance?" I nodded and let Brittany lead me towards Rachel's dance floor. At Puck's house it was just a makeshift area set aside for dance, Rachel had one actually built. Brittany twirled around me and swayed her body in swift fluid movements. I defiantly needed to be drunk to even attempt to keep up.

"Hey Pez, your girl is getting jealous." Puck shouted across the room as he held a red cup filled with vodka in one hand. Rachel looked up at him and smacked him hard on the shoulder. She was doing that thing where she wanted to say something to me, but she didn't want to intrude.

"Britt." I didn't even need to say anything Brittany understood and she continued dancing until she reached Finn and she danced around him. There was no way in hell that ogre was going to keep up with her. "Rach." I wrapped my arms around Rachel's tiny body, so my back was pressed to her front. "Is the food here?" I whispered in her ear. There was a whole group of people around us, and I could feel the subtle glances and curious looks at Rachel and me.

"Yeah it's cheese or pepperoni pizza." Rachel said trying to turn around so she could face me, but I just pulled her in tighter to my body.

"I could think of something else I want to eat." I whispered huskily into Rachel's ear. Rachel tried to hold back a smile and Puck looked over at me with a sly grin. I know no one heard what I said, but the way Rachel's cheeks were burning, I bet they could guess.

"You're such a flirt." Rachel chastised.

"You like it." I said biting down gently on her neck.

"God, can you two just go upstairs and fuck, some of us have our lunches we'd like to keep in our stomachs." Kurt said as he covered his eyes.

"Yes we can totally do that." I grabbed Rachel's hand and pulled her upstairs, I was waiting for her to protest but when she didn't I turned around and faced her. "Aren't you going to tell me some weird stuff about hormones and teenagers?"

"No." Rachel said closing her bedroom door behind us.

"Nothing about how you want to wait until you're twenty-five and have a Tony?" She shook her head no and kissed my nose. "So you love me?"

"Haven't I told you that already?" Rachel asked as she pushed me back on her bed and straddled my hips. "I've never been happier here with you with all of our friends downstairs enjoying themselves and thanks to Puck getting drunk. I thought our worlds could never collide like this and be safe…but everything has worked out." I smirked and then broke out in a fit of laughter.

"You totally wrote that out!" I exclaimed and Rachel blushed and nodded before leaning down and kissing my bottom lip.

"So you promise to stay away from drugs and El Diablo and Rico and pot and-."

"I promise." I assured her.

"Good because I think it's much healthier if you live life that way. It's-."

"I'm not doing it for me." I kissed her sweetly on the cheek. "I'm doing this for you, to protect you because I love you. Anything for you Rachel…anything."

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